Everything Will Be Alright
by Qashi and Tsuara
Summary: When Finchpaw finds out that her great-great-grandfather is actually a RiverClan cat, she learns and discovers pawfuls of mistakes that never would have happened if not for her RiverClan ancestor and his ThunderClan mate. Tasked with the job of fixing history's mistakes, she must also figure out where her loyalties lie now that she knows of her RiverClan family.
1. Prologue and Allegiances

**Hello, and, uh, welcome. *shrugs* Anyways, we're Qashi and Tsuara (We're sisters.) and this is our first fanfiction story, so reviews and constructive criticism are truly appreciated. If you read the summary, then you get what this story is about, and... yeah.**

 **(Ay? Ay? Any cheers for an awkward start to the story? No? Oh, okay...)**

* * *

 **ALLEGIANCES**

* * *

 **-ThunderClan:**

 **Leader:** Hazelstar (pale brown tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes)

 **Deputy:** Birdflight (tortoiseshell she-cat with white paws and green eyes)

 **Medicine Cat:** Cloverbreeze (brown-and-white tabby she-cat with amber eyes)

 **Warriors:**

Sparrowheart (dark brown tabby tom with white paws and fiery amber eyes)

Thrushsong (pale gray tom with darker shades and green eyes)

Vixenheart (bright ginger she-cat with dark ginger ears and hazel eyes)

Owlclaw (brown tabby tom with yellow eyes)

Voletooth (dark brown tom with dark amber eyes)

Firespark (russet tom with white chest and paws, green eyes)

Ashbreeze (pale gray tabby she-cat with darker speckles and blue eyes)

Maplestorm (tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes)

Oakpoppy (brown-and-white tom with hazel eyes)

Hollyear (scruffy-furred dark brown tabby she-cat with dark amber eyes

Nightflower (black she-cat with pale hazel eyes)

Ravencloud (black tom with amber eyes)

Cindershade (silver tabby she-cat with hazel eyes)

Twigbreeze (dusky brown tabby she-cat with green eyes)

Spottedstorm (spotted brown tabby tom with amber eyes)

 **Apprentices:**

Olivepaw (tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes) Mentor: Birdflight

Tigerpaw (brown tabby tom with hazel eyes) Mentor: Vixenheart

Mousepaw (pale mousey brown tom with bright amber eyes) Mentor: Sparrowheart

Sagepaw (gray-and-white tom with green eyes) Mentor: Thrushsong

Midnightpaw (dark blue-gray she-cat with black patches and blue eyes) Mentor: Firespark

Finchpaw (golden brown tabby she-cat with golden eyes) Mentor: Ashbreeze

Emberpaw (dark golden-ginger tom with dark reddish amber eyes) Mentor: Voletooth

 **Queens:**

Fawnleap (golden-brown she-cat with red patches and hazel eyes) [Firespark's kits: Frostkit, Jaykit, and Birchkit]

 **Kits:**

Frostkit (cream-and-white she-kit with pale hazel eyes)

Jaykit (mottled black-and-grey tom with blue eyes)

Birchkit (red tabby tom with white patches and green eyes)

 **Elders:**

Quailflight (gray tabby she-cat with green eyes)

Rosepetal (reddish-ginger she-cat with amber eyes)

Robinwing (red-and-white tom with yellow eyes)

* * *

 **-ShadowClan:**

 **Leader:** Flintstar (pale gray-and-white patched tabby she-cat with hazel eyes)

 **Deputy:** Scorchfrost (dark colored ginger-and-gray tabby tom with fierce green eyes)

 **Medicine Cat:** Wolfclaw (shaggy gray tom with blue eyes, formerly a warrior)

* * *

 **-RiverClan**

 **Leader:** Acornstar (pale ginger-and-white mottled she-cat with amber eyes)

 **Deputy:** Rainwing (pretty silver tabby she-cat with soft blue eyes)

 **Medicine Cat:** Poolsplash (gray tom with white paws and paler speckles, green eyes)

* * *

 **-WindClan**

 **Leader:** Yellowstar (mottled yellow she-cat with hazel eyes)

 **Deputy:** Runningcreek (pale brown tabby tom with yellow eyes)

 **Medicine Cat:** Moleshade (dark brown tom with dark amber eyes)

* * *

 **Prologue:**

There was a dark, low sound coming alive. It was quiet but insistent, easily noticeable to anyone who stayed still for just a moment and pricked their ears to listen.

The sound was neither a groan nor a yowl, not a meow or a purr. It was simply a sound, just as meaningful as any other. The only way in which it was special was the fact that it was an odd sound, not one that was normally heard around the area.

Slowly, the sound died away, leaving an empty quietness to hang in the grassy clearing, long and foreboding despite its non-existence...

Blazing gold burst like lightning out of the shadows, scorching through the grass and hanging towards an oak tree. There, the fiery color stilled and tumbled to ground, looking less like a living flame and more like a patch of yellow dandelions as time passed and the cat recovered from its rocketing stance.

Pricking up two tufted golden ears, the cat swiveled its head to stare back the way it had come with golden eyes just as bright as the cat's golden fur in the sun.

Tall and lanky, the cat's long, skinny legs and thin pelt didn't make the cat look very threatening. But as the cat brought its two front legs forwards and deepened its back into a long, sharp arch, strong muscles were easily seen under the short golden fur.

"Don't bother hiding, Ravenwing. I know you're there," the cat spoke, flicking its golden tail in a breezily dismissive sort of way.

The voice of the cat was a lower pitched voice, deep and steady, like cool rock chilling the ground on a frosty winter day.

One of the shadows of the bushes around the golden cat (a proud, assertive tom) moved forwards in a sleek, graceful fashion. Two soft green orbs blinked open and a she-cat, her long, ebony-black fur neat and well-groomed, peeled away from the shadows.

Her head was shaped like a diamond, the fur on her cheeks tufting into rounded corners as they framed her face, the fur on her forehead smoothed down. Her silver whiskers, outlined with the black of her face and pelt, were straight and untangled.

The she-cat gave a gentle, carefree wave of her tail in acknowledgement. "Yes, Goldenbramble?" she mewed promptly, her higher voice silky and bright, if a mere voice could be such things.

Her green eyes, rich with emotion, trained on the golden tom's own golden orbs, and for a few moments, shadow and fire stared into each other, as if each waiting for the other to speak first.

The silence stretched out, long and deep and unbroken, and coiled around the two cats like a snake poised to strike, mouth hissing out a whispering breeze.

"I..."

The golden tom stopped, lowering his head for a moment to look at his paws.

"Yes, Goldenbramble?" Ravenwing mewed softly. Her green eyes were round with concern as she gazed at him, her expression quiet yet supportive.

Goldenbramble took a small breath, and then a big one, before rising his head back up again to stare into the she-cat's eyes.

"Ravenwing... Your voice is like honey, smooth and silky sweet," he began. "You're as pretty as flowers, as fancy as the shadows, as beautiful smelling as all the roses in the world... Ravenwing, whenever I'm near you, my pelt tingles... Ravenwing, I love you."

The she-cat stood in a shocked silence for a moment, and the golden tom's eyes were forlorn and hurt as he stepped away, tail drooping.

"Ravenwing, do you not care for me?" he asked quietly. "I though you liked me, as in _liked_ me... I was positive."

His deep, normally steady voice was a more broken, pained one now. "Ravenwing..."

The black she-cat recovered from her astonishment and she let out a loud, rumbly, affectionate purr as she took two steps forwards and pressed her muzzle against the tom's.

"You silly mouse-brain," she murmured. "Of course I like you. I love you to."

The golden tom's pained expression changed from one of surprised to one of utmost joy.

He licked her nose before pulling away from her for a moment. "Ravenwing, will you be my mate?"

"Of course," she whispered, licking his cheek in return.

They stood there for a moment, staring into each others' eyes again, before Ravenwing blinked softly.

"But, Goldenbramble," she mewed. "How can our relationship work out? We're from different clans, a-and this isn't allowed."

Her green eyes darkened, becoming troubled and despaired. "A RiverClan tom and ThunderClan she-cat can't be together, it's as simple at that!" she mewed, her voice rising to a wail.

The tom widened his eyes and pressed against the black she-cat, twining his tail with hers. "Don't worry about it," he promised her. "Everything will be fine. Everything will work out, as long you have me and I have. As long we have each other, everything will be alright."

Ravenwing leaned into him.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely positive, I promise. As long as we have each other, everything will be alright."

* * *

 **Thank you so, so much for reading the allegiances and prologue! (We're assuming you did if you're still here.) Again, please review telling us what you think or giving us some constructive criticism, we'd really appreciate! Thanks!**

 **The next chapter should be up in a couple of days, possibly today since Tsuara and I (I type since I'm quicker and care more for grammar and all, we talk it over and plan it together though and sit together while we/I write.) are pretty excited to continue this.**

 **Thanks again, and QT out!**


	2. Chapter 1: The Dares

**A big thanks to Featherfall's Lullaby for her review! We'll try and draft read to make sure we don't have any mistakes in the future, thanks for pointing that out.**

 **That said, here is Chapter 1.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

The golden brown tabby she-cat stared, unblinking, into the dark reddish-amber eyes of the dark golden-ginger tom sitting before her. Neither one moved, their focus trained solely on staring at each other.

At last, after a period of silent staring, the golden brown tabby she-cat blinked her golden eyes and lowered her gaze, expression cross and sour.

"I won!" The dark golden-ginger tom proclaimed happily, letting his own eyes blink rapidly now. "I've won every single staring contest we've had since we became apprentices, Finchpaw!"

Finchpaw winced, looking up at him after a moment. "Well, I was the master when we were kits," she mewed pointedly. "Your streak has lasted for a moon. My streak lasted for six."

The tom shrugged. "Yeah, well, I'll get there," he answered confidently. "After all, I am Emberpaw, son of Hollyear and Voletooth, brother of Finchpaw, the best apprentice in the clan!"

His tone was joking, but Finchpaw clearly didn't find it funny. Rolling her golden eyes, she twitched her ears. "I'll beat you next time," she warned. "Don't get used to winning!"

"In that case, I'll go find Voletooth and go training," Emberpaw mewed. "That way I can delay the next competition! I like winning for once."

"Don't think I haven't noticed!" Finchpaw purred good-naturedly, her soreness over losing starting to fade. "But, finding our mentors is still a good idea. We can't eat till we've hunted for the elders and the queens, and I'm already getting hungry!"

Emberpaw nodded and jumped to his feet. "I'll go get them if you want to sneak a bite to eat before we train," he offered.

Finchpaw shook her head. "Nah, I don't wanna do that... I'll wait till later."

"Okay then," Emberpaw shrugged. "We'll find them together."

The golden brown tabby she-cat nodded and padded out of the apprentice den, Emberpaw following her. She scanned the clearing for her own mentor, Ashbreeze, to no avail, and decided that she had to be in the warrior's den, resting.

Emberpaw, on the other hand, had better luck and trotted across the ThunderClan camp to the fresh-kill pile, where Voletooth and a couple other warriors sat eating their breakfast. The apprentice spoke to his mentor and after a few moments the two padded back over to Finchpaw.

"Good morning!" Voletooth rumbled to Finchpaw, who nodded in return. "Ashbreeze is sleeping; she had dawn patrol today, so we'll be going out without her. We're on hunting duty today, with Ravencloud and Twigbreeze."

"Cool!" Emberpaw mewed enthusiastically. "Do you want me to find them for you, Voletooth?"

The senior warrior shook his head. "No, I spoke with them when Birdflight assigned the patrols for the day and they said they'd meet us near the abandoned twolegnest an hour or so before sunhigh."

Finchpaw glanced up at the sky. "That's now," she announced, widening her eyes. "We should get going!"

Voletooth nodded. "Correct. And if you're all ready, we should head out."

The two apprentices nodded earnestly and the trio trotted at a fast pace across the clearing, pausing to take turns as the cats slid through the thorn exit and out of the ThunderClan camp.

The forest instantly engulfed them, the lushly leaved trees springing up tall and high around them. It was the height of Greenleaf, and the sun trickled through the canopy and spilled shadows and brightness both on the forest floor, a mix of green grass and leaf mulch left over from last year's Leaffall.

Voletooth took the lead as mentor and apprentices weaved through the trees.

Finchpaw opened her mouth to take a large gulp of fresh forest air before sniffing a line of flowers. Inhaling the fresh scents, she felt her limbs relax as the peacefulness of the forest entombed her.

A bee, buzzing furiously around the daisies she was sniffing, made her jerk back and hurry to catch up with her companions.

Emberpaw shot her an amused glance and she flicked him with her tail, flattening her ears as if to say, 'Hey, can you really blame me for not wanting to get stung?'

They slowed as the trail curved to right and then ended, the forest opening up as they emerged onto the old thunderpath. The broken chunks of dark gray stone were nearly hidden completely with weeds and grass now, though Finchpaw's mother, Hollyear, said it used to barely be green back when ThunderClan and the other three clans first came to the lake. Nowadays the thought was hard to imagine, but she trusted her mother to say nothing but the truth.

The abandoned twolegnest loomed up in front of them, the tall entrance outlining the frames of two cats. One was a black tom with amber eyes, the ThunderClan warrior Ravenshade, and the other was a dusky brown tabby she-cat with green eyes, named Twigbreeze.

The two warriors stood as the three approached, and Twigbreeze waved a greeting with her tail. "Good morning!" Her green gaze trailed to Emberpaw and Finchpaw. "Excited to hunt?"

"Yep!" Emberpaw mewed enthusiastically, and Finchpaw nodded in agreement, instead choosing to keep quiet and let her brother do the talking. "Especially Finchpaw, because she's hungry and she needs to hunt before she can eat cause-"

Finchpaw, embarrassed, shoved her brother and he stumbled to side, stopping the rest of his sentence from tumbling out and shooting Finchpaw and apologetic look.

"So basically yeah," he mewed sheepishly.

Ravenshade's amber eyes sparkled with amusement. "I understand you completely, Finchpaw," he mewed. "I used to always be hungry in the morning, until Sparrowheart grew tired of it and had me start hunting in the evenings so I could eat the following morning."

Finchpaw shuffled her paws. "I'm not hungry!" she protested.

Her yellow eyes, full of embarrassment, showed otherwise.

Voletooth motioned for the patrol to shush. "There's a mouse in the twolegnest," he whispered. "Emberpaw, see if you can catch it."

The apprentice nodded and dropped into a crouch, padding quietly towards the entrance. Ravenshade and Twigbreeze stepped lightly to the side to give him space as he passed them, eyes staring into the darkness as he sniffed the air to locate the mouse.

He stalked forwards a few steps before taking a big leap, landing somewhere in the towlegnest, and padded out a few moments later with the mouse swinging by its tail from his jaws.

"Well caught, Emberpaw," Voletooth praised, and Emberpaw grinned, blinking his thanks,

Ravenshade nodded his congratulations and Finchpaw did the same, but soon turned away, hearing another piece of prey in the bushes nearby.

Creeping away from the now-on looking patrol of cats, Finchpaw felt a flash of triumph as she spotted a big vole crouched under an aspen tree, too busy looking through the grass for food to notice her coming up behind it.

With a quick leap she landed and killed the vole, picking up her catch and turning back to her group.

After Emberpaw and Finchpaw's catches had been buried, Voletooth sent them off in pairs with the younger warriors, saying he would watch them hunt between hunting his own prey.

Finchpaw, paired with Twigbreeze, gave the dusky brown warrior a small nod. "So... Where do you want to hunt?"

"Why don't you choose?" Twigbreeze answered, shrugging. "You know where the prey hides just as much as I do."

"In that case, let's head towards the lake?" Finchpaw asked, uncertain. But Twigbreeze nodded and mewed agreement, and so the two started heading towards the lake shore, pausing shortly on the way so that Twigbreeze could catch a sparrow roosting in the lower branches of a oak tree.

At the lake, the two spread out, searching for prey.

Finchpaw pricked as she heard scrabbling and slowly turned around, delighted to see a robin hopping along the edge of the tree line and pecking at the bushes and weeds. She dropped into her best hunter's crouch and started stalking towards the bird, careful to keep as quiet as possible.

But the robin, through searching in the bushes, quickly spread its wings and flew away, leaving Finchpaw to make a wild leap for it.

One forepaw arced through the air, missing the robin by a couple mouse lengths.

Finchpaw landed messily on the ground and growled. "Mouse dung! I'll have to find something else."

Turning away, she padded along the tree line until she saw a mouse scurrying between two bramble bushes.

Recognizing that there wasn't time to stalk and hunt it properly, Finchpaw darted forwards and slammed her paw down on the mouse's tail, before leaning down and quickly giving it a sharp bite on that back its neck.

Satisfied, she carried her catch back to where she had split up from Twigbreeze.

The warrior was already there, her sparrow from earlier sitting at her paws beside a shrew and a squirrel.

"Good job," Twigbreeze mewed, rising to her feet once Finchpaw neared her. "Let's head back to the twolegnest to see if the others are back."

They padded quickly through the trees, and upon return to the abandoned twolegnest, Finchpaw padded over to where her vole was buried and she dug it up, adding it in place beside her mouse. Twigbreeze sat silently beside her with her own catches and they fell into a comfortable quiet as they waited for Voletooth, Ravenshade, and Emberpaw.

They arrived as a trio, each carrying at least three pieces of prey.

Finchpaw looked shamefully at her own two catches, but brightened slightly as she realized that Emberpaw had three baby shrews, which wasn't very much. He grabbed his mouse and sat next her, waiting for the warriors to send them back to camp.

Ravenshade had a thrush, a mouse, and a vole, and Voletooth carried two squirrels, a blackbird, and a shrew.

"Well done, all of you," Voletooth mewed, taking command. "Let's head back to camp."

"Right," Twigbreeze mewed, picking up her prey and speeding through the trees. Ravenshade bounded after her, leaving just Voletooth, Emberpaw, and Finchpaw.

The three of them walked back to camp much slower then the two young warriors, taking their time. Emberpaw chattered to Finchpaw excitedly about how he had found the nest of his three baby shrews, his words muffled and distorted by his catches but still comprehendible enough for Finchpaw to understand what he was saying.

Once back in camp, Finchpaw dropped her vole on the pile, deciding to eat her mouse instead of choosing something else. She settled down next to a few of the older apprentices, Olivepaw, Tigerpaw, and Midnightpaw, who were deciding upon fun dares for each of themselves. Emberpaw joined them as well with a water vole, and the littermates tuned in to the conversation.

"Tigerpaw, you've so got to do my dare!" Midnightpaw was exclaiming. She paused to blink a greeting at the two before returning to her argument. "Catching stray tails is nothing, unlike putting nettles in Robinwing's fresh-kill!"

"Fine, fine, I'll do yours!" Tigerpaw exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "But only if you put fire ants in Birdflight's nest."

Emberpaw blinked, cutting into the conversation. "Well, what's Olivepaw doing?"

"Climbing to the top of the Great Sarcomere," Olivepaw answered proudly, before adding, "I dare you to mess up all of Cloverbreeze's herbs, Emberpaw."

Emberpaw nodded. "Deal! But we need something for Finchpaw..."

Midnightpaw narrowed her eyes. "I've got one. She has to go to the moonpool and dream there the night before the half moon, and she has to cover up her tracks well enough that the medicine cats don't figure it out the next day!"

"Definitely," Olivepaw agreed, glanced at Finchpaw. "You up to it?"

The golden brown tabby she-cat widened her golden eyes before letting them narrow. "I think I can handle it," she decided. "How many days till the half moon?"

"Five."

"So in four days, I go to the moonpool and I dream there!" Finchpaw summed, eyes shining with mischief. "You guys will cover for me, right?"

The other apprentices nodded eagerly.

"I'll let Sagepaw and Mousepaw know about it," Tigerpaw promised. "That way, they won't freak out if they wake up during the night and find you missing. But you've got to be back before the dawn patrol returns."

"Will do!" Finchpaw promised. "All in four days!"

* * *

 **Well, we _think_ this chapter turned out well and makes a good setup for what we have planned next. We wanted to build up Finchpaw's character a little bit before we got into more of the action, so, hunting it was. Someone will probably be able to guess what will happen at the moonpool, we think. **

**We went through the prologue and edited the grammar and spelling mistakes we saw, and also updated a mentor list into the allegiances as well, so that's good.**

 **Anyways, again, constructive criticism/reviews are greatly appreciated! There should be a new chapter tomorrow or the day after.**


	3. Chapter 2: Olivepaw's Climb

**Thanks to Dark of DogClan for reviewing and pointing out the mistake! Frostkit was originally named Sorrelkit, but we decided that we wanted to change it to Frostkit and forgot to edit both parts.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2:**

Two days had passed since the hunting patrol, and Finchpaw was considerably excited about her dare to go to the moonpool. Ignoring the fact that StarClan might very well be angry at her for her intrusion upon the sacred hollow, the golden brown tabby had realized that she might very well be able to receive a vision or perhaps communicate with the great warriors of StarClan themselves!

It had come to the point where she was a little boastful about her dare- about how it was the hardest but most rewarding dare out of all of them, and so on, but she did her best to refrain from saying those words out loud.

At the current moment Finchpaw, Emberpaw, Tigerpaw, Midnightpaw, Sagepaw, and Mousepaw crowded around the Great Sarcomere, cheering for Olivepaw as she leapt higher and higher up the looming tree.

"You can do it!" Mousepaw called, flicking his tail proudly. He was Olivepaw's sister, and though he had been reluctant at the thought of the danger- there was a reason why climbing to the very top was forbidden- the mousey brown tom didn't stop her, excited to see his sister prove herself to be as great a climber as one had to be to complete the dare.

Olivepaw was beginning to grow faint amongst the branches, but every few leaps she would let out a yowl to say that she was okay.

It was early in the day, about dawn, and the apprentices had been most excited over sneaking out of camp early so as to watch Olivepaw complete her dare.

Finchpaw shifted slightly uncomfortably next to Emberpaw, squinting her eyes to try and see the tortoiseshell she-cat but failing.

"She's really high up!" she murmured, impressed. The golden brown tabby had never dared to go that high in the tree whenever she had been taken there for climbing practice- the though of falling from so high up scared her, and the apprentice grudgingly admitted to herself that Olivepaw's dare was just as difficult as her own, though it lacked the reward.

When Olivepaw yowled again the next time, it was harder to hear her; she was climbing too high up for her voice to travel all the way down to the group of young cats.

Her next call was fainter, and even more the next time.

Soon enough, they couldn't hear the tortoiseshell at all, and Mousepaw began shifting uncomfortably. "Maybe we shouldn't have done this dare," he whispered, not tearing his eyes away from the tree.

"She'll be fine!" Midnightpaw mewed determinedly, but her voice wavered.

They were all uneasy now that they had lost contact with Olivepaw, and Emberpaw straightened, trying to lighten the mood with a joke. "She'll be able to touch the stars once she gets to the top- she'll by flying! Look out, it's Super Olivepaw!"

Finchpaw shoved him, glaring. _Not right now, Emberpaw! Joke later!_

The group all let out loud sighs of relief as they heard a faint, triumphant yowl from Olivepaw.

"I did it! I made it all the to the top!" she was saying. "You can practically touch the clouds, oh, and you can see the whole lake from there! Everything! Even the mountains!"

Mousepaw let out a loud, happy purr. "Are you alright?" he shouted.

"A-Okay! I'll be down there in a second!"

The apprentices grouped closely together, watching and waiting silence.

Soon enough, Olivepaw's shape was visible, leaping nimbly from branch, her expression one of delight and excitement.

When she reached the lowest branch, she hopped to the ground, and they crowded around her.

"Well done!" Sagepaw purred, eyes wide. "Was it fun?"

"Awesome!" Olivepaw answered, breathless.

Finchpaw flicked her tail gently at Olivepaw. " _That_ was amazing. Was it hard?"

The elder apprentice thought for a moment and then shook her head. "Not really, in the majority. At the top, the branches were really thin and wobbly, but as long as I stayed near the trunk I was fine."

Emberpaw, casting a mischievous look at Finchpaw, asked, "Could you fly? Did you touch the stars?"

Olivepaw let out a purr of amusement. "No, and no, mouse-brain!"

The golden brown tabby glared at her brother a second time.

 _Not funny!_

Her brother frowned, disappointed, before Midnightpaw stepped in front of him and Finchpaw lost track of her brother. "All that's left is getting back to camp before everyone realizes we're gone!" she announced.

Olivepaw winced. "Right, I've got battle training today with Mousepaw... I'll be _exhausted!_ "

"Oh..." Finchpaw blinked sympathetically. "Good luck with that. Hopefully Birdflight won't ask you any questions, we weren't intending to have anyone lie!"

Mousepaw nodded. "You can have my share of fresh-kill for breakfast, if that helps get you energy. We'll be better matched."

The tortoiseshell shook her head, but Mousepaw insisted. "I don't want you tired and hungry!" he told her.

Finchpaw smiled internally at the sight. Emberpaw could be annoying at times, but she knew that he would do the same for her if she was in Olivepaw's place. _Isn't it nice to have siblings?_

. . .

Back at camp, Mousepaw saw Olivepaw to her nest whilst the rest of the apprentices jumped into their day's chores and duties. Finchpaw and Midnightpaw, responsible for the elders; Emberpaw and Sagepaw, tasked with the nursery; Tigerpaw, cleaning out Hazelstar's nest; and, lastly, Mousepaw, joining the dawn patrol with his mentor, Sparrowheart.

"Olivepaw was amazing!" Midnightpaw was chattering as they trotted back into the forest to get fresh moss.

Finchpaw nodded. "Yeah, all the way to the top!"

The black patched dark blue-gray she-cat glanced at Finchpaw. "Are you ready to go to the moonpool?" she asked, changing the conversation.

"Oh!" The golden brown tabby she-cat stopped, surprised by the sudden mention of her own dare. "Yeah, I guess so. You ready to put fire ants in Birdflight's nest? Aka the _deputy's_ nest?"

"Yeah!" Midnightpaw grinned. "I found a fire ant nest near the ShadowClan border, so I'll have plenty!"

"You mean you're not scared?" Finchpaw tilted her head, moving again.

Her friend shook her head, looking completely unconcerned. "I mean, even if she catches me, how bad can she punish me? Elder duties for a moon? Two moons? It's not like it's that bad."

When Finchpaw stared at her, astonished and disbelieving, Midnightpaw laughed. "They tell good stories, okay?"

The golden brown tabby she-cat nodded in agreement after a moment. "Suppose so."

Silence fell upon the two as they veered around a tree, stopping in front of a big oak covered with moss. Finchpaw started raking at the roots, whilst Midnightpaw reared onto her hindlegs and started scraping the moss off of the oak bark.

Finchpaw's pile grew slowly and the older apprentice's more rapidly.

She looked at Midnightpaw's pile and narrowed her eyes, a wave of competition and determination crashing into her. _I'll collect more then you!_

Turning back to the tree, she started scrabbling furiously at the moss, raking it into her pile as quickly as she could, wincing as she saw splinters joining the moss but too wired up to care. This was something she'd win, unlike those staring competitions with Emberpaw...

"Hey, what's with the rush?" Midnightpaw asked, frowning at Finchpaw. "That moss is no good! You can't have the elders sleep on that!"

Finchpaw stopped, staring more intensely at her moss pile and blinking in surprise- it wasn't just a few splinters. There was grass and wood chips and dirt, and lots more splinters then she had noticed.

"Oh..."

She looked at Midnightpaw, who's blue eyes were trained on Finchpaw's yellow ones.

"Uh, let's use your moss..." she stammered. "I'll pick through this and add to my own nest later, you're right that the elders deserve better then this."

Sheepishly, she rolled her moss up into a tight ball and picked it up.

Midnightpaw sighed, shrugged, and at last bundled up her own moss and grabbed it under her chin, trapping it between her jaws and her chest. "Let's get back to camp quickly," she decided.

Nodding, Finchpaw followed the older apprentice at a bound back to camp, where they slipped into the hazel thicket that made up the elder den and set down their moss, Finchpaw careful to hide hers behind Midnightpaw's.

The three elders, Quailflight, Rosepetal, and Robinpaw, greeted them warmly.

"You want to hear a story while you work?" Rosepetal offered, the sweet old she-cat blinking cheerfully at them.

Midnightpaw nodded. "Tell us about what ThunderClan was like when you were apprentices!" she requested.

"That's it?" Quailflight asked, sounding surprised. "That's not much of a story," she warned.

Midnightpaw shrugged. "But Robinwing always said you got into lots of trouble," she protested. "I though it would be interesting to hear about it."

The elderly cat swung her head and narrowed her eyes at Robinwing. "And why did you tell her that?" she grumbled, looking slightly defeated but still proud and strong.

Robinwing, yellow eyes sparkling, reached out with one paw to nudge Quailflight. "I may or may not have been looking forward to this day for a while," he answered, grinning.

"Why, you little!" Quailflight lashed her tail, but her eyes were good-natured and forgiving.

Finchpaw shrugged internally, not believing that there was much to forgive.

"Anyways," Rosepetal purred gently, interrupting her fellow elders. "You get to work on our nests, and we'll tell you all about Quailflight's adventures!"

. . .

"Wow, why'd you go after the fox?" Finchpaw breathed.

She and Midnightpaw had finished the elders' nests a while ago, along with taking care of the ticks, and now they crouched next to each other, listening with wide eyes as Quailflight recalled her seemingly endless list of adventures.

"Well, I thought I'd get my warrior name if I chased it away!" the elder answered. "I was just an apprentice then, remember."

"Quailflight was never a sensible cat," Robinwing added, smirking.

Quailflight batted at him with one paw. "At least I knew how to hunt and fight!" she retorted, before glancing at the apprentices. "He nearly failed his warrior assessment," the gray tabby she-cat explained.

Robinwing frowned. "Well, it wasn't my fault that Cloverbreeze scared away that rabbit while she was looking for borage!"

"Wait," Midnightpaw interrupted. " _Cloverbreeze_ was already a medicine cat when you were young warriors?"

Rosepetal shook her head. "No, she was a brand new apprentice."

"Then she's really old!"

"Hey, we're not that old," Rosepetal reminded Midnightpaw. "Just... old. Cloverbreeze can't retire until she's trained an apprentice, anyways."

Finchpaw shuffled her paws. "One, can we hear the story? And two, how come she never an apprentice?"

The elders were silent for a few moments. Then, the pale reddish-ginger she-cat sadly explained, "Cloverbreeze had an apprentice one, named Icepaw. But Icepaw went out looking for catmint one Leafbare day and never returned..."

"Oh..." Finchpaw breathed, staring at her feet.

"Well, the story!" Quailflight continued suddenly. "I slipped out camp and started heading to the ShadowClan border, where I found fox tracks. I started following them until I found a hole in the ground, covered with fox scent- the fox's den!"

"I bared my teeth, bristled my fur, and charged right on in! The fox lunged for me instantly, throwing me against the wall of the den. I scrambled to my feet, but the den was so dark that I couldn't see anything except the circle of light that was the exit! So I flailed my claws randomly, missing way more blows then the ones I managed to connect. I knew I had to get out, though, and as soon as I could I darted out of the fox den.

"But it kept chasing me. I ran for camp, where I took shelter in the apprentice den while the warriors fought the fox. Boy, was Ivystar furious at me! I was confined to camp for three moons, and I had to care for the elders all by myself."

Finchpaw stared at the elder. "Why'd you lead it back to camp?" she asked.

"I couldn't think of anywhere else to go that was safe," Quailflight answered, before narrowing her eyes. "But don't let me give you any ideas- if you're ever being chased by an enemy, the ThunderClan camp is the one place you should never, ever lead them to!"

"That makes sense," Midnightpaw agreed, nodding. "But-"

"Of course it makes sense!" Robinwing exclaimed. "Rosepetal and I- we were Rosepaw and Robinpaw back then, of course- were given lectures for days after Quailflight's incident. They thought we'd be mouse-brained enough to do the same thing!"

Rosepetal blinked warmly at her brother. "We weren't though, and Quailflight learned her lesson, too. And now we're a happy, alive family."

"Now, you should be finding your mentors!" Quailflight interrupted. "It's well time you got to training! We'll tell you the rest of the story later, if you wish to hear it."

Midnightpaw jumped to her feet. "I do!" she exclaimed, before promising, "I'll be here tomorrow."

"So will I," Finchpaw decided.

With that, the two apprentices turned and slipped out of the den, seeking out their respective mentors for their day's activities.

* * *

 **Well, we're very satisfied with the length of this chapter. Excluding our notes at the beginning and end, this chapter is 2,268 words!**

 **Anyways, we'll finally get to Finchpaw's dare at the moonpool next chapter, which is where a major plot point will take place. Yet again, please feel free to review telling us your thoughts/whether you like it or not/constructive criticism- it's really appreciated by us!**

 **Again, this is our first fanfiction story, so... Well, we're not really sure what relevance that has to this, but, we're still learning/improving our writing and, hopefully, the reviews could help us learn a ton, and also help us edit out mistakes in the previous chapters.**

 **Well, thanks for reading!**

 **~Qashi and Tsuara**


	4. Chapter 3: The Moonpool

**Well, hello again! We didn't gain any reviews since last chapter, so there's nothing for us to respond to here...**

 **But here is Chapter 3, nice and early in the morning today! (We did most of it yesterday night.) This chapter might seem a little long, but Tsuara and I's goal is to reach at least 200 more words in this chapter then the last, which has a total of 2,432. (We want to always have more words than the last, at least until we reach 3,000-4,000 words per chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3:**

Tonight was _the night_.

Finchpaw quivered in excitement. She and the other apprentices sat in a circle, eating their dinner and chatting excitedly about Finchpaw's dare.

Emberpaw sat next to her, looking very optimistic about her 'mission,' as he called it. He had been talking about all day, at least, whenever everybody else except their fellow apprentices were out of earshot.

After Olivepaw's successful climb and the triumphant turnouts of the rest of apprentices' dares (Birdflight was furious when she woke up that morning to find fire ants crawling all over her and her pelt covered in stinging bites) Finchpaw was confident that everything would be perfect for her- she would make it to the moonpool, dream there, wake up in the morning, cover up her tracks, and return to camp with her absence from it unnoticed.

"What do you think you'll dream about?" Midnightpaw asked, eyes shining.

The golden brown tabby apprentice shrugged. "I... I'm not sure. I mean, at the least I'll have a good sleep, at the most I could see StarClan warriors!"

Tigerpaw twitched his ears. "Well, why would StarClan come to you?" he pointed out. "There's pretty much no reason."

Nudging the younger apprentice, Mousepaw shared a glance with Olivepaw and exclaimed, "You've no imagination! At least, no hope or optimism, Tigerpaw. Olivepaw made it up the _tallest tree in the forest_ and back down without a single mistake- why shouldn't Finchpaw meet StarClan cats?"

"Who do you think you'll see?" Olivepaw chimed in enthusiastically, fixing her gaze on Finchpaw.

"Uh..." Finchpaw stammered, racking her brain for the names of fallen cats. "Maybe Ivystar, or... uh... Icepaw."

The other apprentices, except for Midnightpaw, frowned. "Who's Icepaw?" Sagepaw asked, sounding genuinely confused.

Midnightpaw answered for Finchpaw. "He's Cloverbreeze's former apprentice- she's real old, nearly as old as the elders!"

There was a moment of silence, before Emberpaw slowly mewed, "Wait, Cloverbreeze had an apprentice? I never heard about that!"

Finchpaw shrugged. "I guess everyone's pretty much forgotten, except the elders and Cloverbreeze, of course." She winced saying the medicine cat's name, knowing that mentioning her fallen apprentice to Cloverbreeze would probably be a terribly sad sort of thing for the old medicine cat.

"I guess so," Emberpaw answered. "I wonder how he became a medicine cat- his heart must have been cold as ice!" He joked after a moment.

None of the apprentices laughed, and Emberpaw shrugged sheepishly. "Not in the mood for jokes?"

"Yeah, just not about _Icepaw_!" Midnightpaw protested. "Either way, I bet it would be really cool if you met him! He's just like us, pretty much, except he's from, like, _seasons_ ago! I bet things were really different back then!"

"I don't think it was that different," Mousepaw argued. "We have the same warrior code, the same moonpool, the same seasons."

" _But_ ," Midnightpaw continued. "Completely different cats!"

Finchpaw sighed and rolled her eyes. "Guys, do we have to argue over the past? I think I want to meet Ivystar more, anyways- She was a leader, after all!"

"Overall, isn't the most important thing getting out of camp as soon as possible, though?" Tigerpaw pointed out.

"Yeah," Sagepaw agreed. "How do you plan to do that?"

"I'll say I'm retiring early to my nest, but, instead, I'll stop by the dirtplace and slip out that way," Finchpaw answered instantly. She had planned it all out that morning in her nest as she waited for Ashbreeze to call her. "What will you say if Ashbreeze comes asking for me?"

The other apprentices stared around at each other for a moment. It was clear they hadn't really thought this through.

"That you're really tired and won't get up?" Emberpaw offered weakly.

Sagepaw rolled his eyes. "That's stupid," he told Emberpaw. "Then Ashbreeze will come in to the den to force her to get up!"

Tigerpaw nodded. "Agreed. We should say something more like 'She's in the dirtplace' or something along those lines."

"But if I don't get back in time, Ashbreeze will know I was gone!" Finchpaw mewed.

"I've got it!" Midnightpaw exclaimed. "We'll say you went out for an early morning walk!"

The apprentices murmured agreement to Midnightpaw's plan, and the she-cat purred proudly.

"Good idea," Oliverpaw told her, tail twitching. "That should work to keep Ashbreeze off Finchpaw's tracks. I just hope that she won't slip into the den or call for Finchpaw while we're all still sleeping- she'll discover that she's gone, then, and everything will be ruined."

"You're basically saying that my success relies on you guys waking up?" Finchpaw rolled her eyes, though she recognized the truth in her words.

Emberpaw nudged her. "You're right to feel uneasy," he told her, grinning. "I like sleeping in late!"

"Ugh!" Finchpaw groaned. "Don't remind me!"

The apprentices laughed, falling into other conversations as they finished their meals and headed for their dens.

It was time for Finchpaw's dare.

She veered away towards the dirtplace tunnel, and padded through it, wrinkling her nose at the smell. The golden brown tabby she-cat wasted no time in pushing her way through the bushes that surrounded the dirt circle, taking in a big sniff of fresh air once she was safely in the forest.

Then, Finchpaw began to trot through the woods, heading towards the WindClan border. She knew to follow the stream up out of the territories and that she would eventually, after crossing a rocky path, find a thorn-enclosed hollow.

Inside that would the moonpool.

She broke into a bound once she reached the border, following it upstream towards her destination. Finchpaw relished the feeling of the wind streaming through her whiskers and ruffling her pelt, her concentrated strokes turning into relaxed lopes as she made her way up an uphill slope where she paused, panting, to catch her breath.

Finchpaw widened her eyes as she saw that the path ahead became rockier and rockier, leading up a hill towards a large thicket of thorn bushes. She was nearly there already!

Full of fresh determination, she ran down the other side of the slope and started up the hill, golden eyes scanning the ground for sharp stones or pebbles. The journey up the hill was slower then the slope, which was to be expected, and the apprentice slowed her pace more and more as she leapt for stone to stone, preferring the large gray surfaces to the rolling, unstable pebbles and smaller stones that threatened to put her off balance and send her falling down the hill.

At the top, she studied the thorns until she found the small gap in the spiky branches- the entrance.

Finchpaw took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then pushed her way through the thorns.

She cracked open her eyes, expected to see a moon-white pool shining like tons of tiny little stars. Instead, all Finchpaw saw was an ordinary pool, reflecting a little starlight but not really dazzling. What really caught Finchpaw's eye was the stone surrounding the pool, which was covered in dimples- paw prints. How many cats had walked there before her?

The golden brown tabby she-cat slowly stepped forwards, her paws falling into the prints of all the thousands of cats who had walked their too, until she reached the pool.

She lay down and touched her nose to the water.

In just a few seconds, the apprentice was fast asleep.

"Finchpaw! Finchpaw, wake up!" A familiar, gentle, rasping voice sounded in her ears.

The apprentice blinked open her eyes and stumbled to her feet. Rosepetal!

"What are you doing here?" she exclaimed. "You're not dead!"

The elder didn't react to her question.

"Finchpaw, look!" the she-cat continued.

Finchpaw slowly twisted her head, and noticed with a start a lanky golden tom staring into the green eyes of a long-furred black she-cat. Rosepetal nudged her towards the two, and the apprentice stumbled forwards, pricking her ears to listen to their conversation.

If the two cats noticed, they didn't react, too infused with each other.

The black she-cat blinked her green eyes softly. "But, Goldenbramble, how can our relationship work out? We're from different clans, a-and this isn't allowed."

Finchpaw stiffened, startled.

Green eyes darkening to an expression of trouble and despair, the she-cat continued with her point. "A RiverClan tom and ThunderClan she-cat can't be together, it's as simple at that!" she mewed, her voice rising to a wail.

 _Exactly_! Finchpaw though, tail lashing. This was a forbidden relationship, she knew, and that shouldn't be happening!

But the heartbreak in the she-cat's eyes made Finchpaw doubt her words. _They really love each other..._

The tom- Goldenbramble- widened his eyes and pressed against the black she-cat, twining his tail with hers. "Don't worry about it," he promised her. "Everything will be fine. Everything will work out, as long you have me and I have. As long we have each other, everything will be alright."

Finchpaw looked back over her shoulder at Rosepetal before her gaze wrenched back to the pair.

The black she-cat was leaning into the tom now, whispering, "Are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely positive, I promise. As long as we have each other, everything will be alright." Goldenbramble told her.

Then the two cats vanished.

Finchpaw spun around, staring at Rosedapple. "What was that? Was it real? Who were they?"

"All in good time, Finchpaw," Rosedapple mewed gently. "All in good time."

She blinked open her eyes, finding herself beside the moonpool once more. The sun was rising, gently spilling its light on the ground.

Finchpaw jumped to her feet. "Rosepetal?"

 _You never answered my first question, or my other three! Why?_

 _A-are you dead?_

"Whatever, I have to get back to camp," Finchpaw told herself.

The golden brown tabby apprentice turned, hastily making her way towards ThunderClan's hollow.

. . .

Padding quietly into camp, Finchpaw quickened her pace as she crossed the clearing, heading straight for the elder's hazel thicket. She poked her head inside.

Robinwing slept soundly in his nest; Quailflight was curled up, tail wrapped over nose, eyes pressed closed; and lastly, but certainly not least, Rosepetal was crouched, sleeping, her flanks gently rising and falling.

Finchpaw pulled her head out and sighed deeply in relief.

But... if Rosepetal wasn't dead, then why and how could she have spoken to Rosepetal in StarClan?

The apprentice sighed and shook her head. She couldn't think about it now; she had to get to the other apprentices to report up on her night.

When she slipped into the den, they were all awake, and they stared eagerly at her.

"How was it?"

"Did you meet StarClan cats?"

"Do you think the medicine cats will catch you?"

"What was it like?"

Even Emberpaw had a question for her. "Was it dazzling?" he asked enthusiastically.

Finchpaw laughed at the energetic questions from all her friends. "It was great!" she told them. "I..." _Did I meet a StarClan cat?_ "I talked to a cat who looked just like Rosepetal. I think I'm good. It was awesome. And," she waited for a dramatic moment. "It wasn't very stunning at all!"

There was a small moment of silence as the other apprentices took it in.

"It's... not _dazzling_?" Midnightpaw mewed quietly. "But the medicine cats say it shines like the stars, its so bright and pretty!"

Finchpaw shrugged. "Well, all _I_ saw was a dull gray pool. The thing that caught my eye was the stone surrounding the pool- it was _covered_ with ancient pawprints!" She took in an excited breath, but the other apprentices didn't seem to agree that that was so amazing.

"Is that all?" Sagepaw asked, sighing. "I'd like to catch a morning nap, if you all don't mind."

Tigerpaw nudged him. "Come on, Sagepaw. You slept all yesterday! Just listen to Finchpaw." He turned to her. "What did you dream about?"

"Uh... Well, a cat who looked and sounded just like Rosepetal woke me up. She had me turn around, and then I watch this forbidden love thing play out between this RiverClan tom and ThunderClan she-cat. I don't why she had me see it."

"StarClan always has their reasons!" Midnightpaw declared. "Does anyone in the clan look like the ThunderClan cat? Maybe its an omen foretelling they'll have a forbidden love in RiverClan!"

Finchpaw frowned. It sounded likely enough. "Well, the only black-furred cats are Nightflower and Ravencloud, but Ravencloud's a tom and the cat had green eyes, not pale hazel ones."

"Well, then maybe the tom from RiverClan, its just switched because of an omen!" Midnightpaw persisted.

"The closest to the tom would be me, Emberpaw, and Fawnleap, though..." Finchpaw murmured. She shook her head. "But we aren't solid golden, anyways, so it can't be us."

Midnightpaw hesitated. "Well, someone is one of them!" she declared after a moment.

Shrugging, Finchpaw curled up into her nest, her legs tired from the journey to and from the moonpool. It only took a second for her to be fast asleep.

 _"Finchpaw," Rosepetal whispered. "Finchpaw, look behind you!"_

 _Finchpaw turned to look over her shoulder._

 _The black she-cat was curled up, three kits at her belly, and the golden tom sat proudly next to her. "They're beautiful," the tom was whispering. "Each one of them."_

 _"Of course," the she-cat answered, purring. "They're yours. What are we going to call them?"_

 _They sat there in silence for a few moments before the she-cat said, "Let's call the ginger tom Goldenkit, so he will never forget his father's name."_

 _"Thank you," he murmured softly. "For doing that. The pale ginger she-cat should be Rosekit, after your mother."_

 _"Right. She shouldn't have been killed in that fight with ShadowClan!" the she-cat answered, eyes narrowing._

 _The golden tom licked her ears comfortingly, asking, "What do you want to call the last one?"_

 _"The last one, our beautiful dark gray she-kit, will be Hollykit..." the she-cat said. "She'll grow into a fierce warrior."_

 _Looking up, the black she-cat's eyes seemed to stare into Finchpaw's. "Her warrior name will be Hollyheart, and her grandkit will be Hollykit, after her."_

 _Finchpaw started bounding towards the she-cat, the tom, and their three kits, but they faded away, along with the land under her feet, and she was falling, falling, falling..._

"Finchpaw! Finchpaw, wake up!"

Eyes widening, FInchpaw sat up. "Yes?" she called, recognizing the voice of her mentor, Ashbreeze.

"It's time for training, lazy-bones," her mentor answered her.

"Oh!'

Finchpaw hopped to her feet and trotted out of the den. "What's happening today?"

"Border patrol, and a battle session with some of the other apprentices," Ashbreeze mewed.

"Okay, let's go!" Finchpaw answered, bounding over to the camp entrance. Ashbreeze followed more slowly, rolling her eyes good-naturedly at her apprentice's enthusiasm. The pale gray tabby she-cat paused to ruffle her fur as a breeze blew down into camp, letting the wind chill her, before the darker-speckled warrior trotted over to join Finchpaw at last.

 _I think, tomorrow, I should and shall visit the moonpool again..._

* * *

 **And that's the chapter... The longest chapter yet, including the notes from Tsuara and I it's 2,759 words long, with about 200 words from us in bold, as with every chapter.**

 **Again, constructive criticism and reviews are highly appreciated! We don't own Warriors, blah de da, so on. Thanks a lot for reading!**

 **~Qashi and Tsuara**


	5. Chapter 4: Mistakes Happen

**Hello again! Amazingly, we've a handful of reviews sine last chapter today! For starts, greetings again to Featherfall's Lullaby! Thank you! There will probably be more dares in the future, as this group of apprentices seem to be a bit more, well, daring and mischievous so far, and we'll probably edit the past chapters for more coverage on the turn-outs on the other dares. (We've updated the Allegiances about six times already.)**

 **To Joanna, thank you for that good catch there. We think we've fixed that mistake on the RiverClan/WindClan thing to all RiverClan now.**

 **And Amberflame, thank you! We're honored to have our first favorite! :D**

 **Starfrost reviewed a couple times, during the days when it wasn't allowing guest reviews on stories (Tsuara prefers to guest review instead of use our account), so basically over all thank you for the support. And, lastly, Starry Skies, thanks, we try and make things longer because, you know, there's just more to see.**

 **With that all said, apologies for not updating yesterday, here's Chapter 4!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4:**

"You did well today, good job," Ashbreeze commented as the duo padded back into camp.

Finchpaw grinned. "Thanks."

Her limbs ached from the battle session with Emberpaw, Midnightpaw, and Sagepaw, but she did feel like she had learned a good deal. For example, she should never, ever, _ever_ pause to shove Emberpaw whenever he made a random, stupid joke during a fight. It never turned out well for her.

The golden brown tabby apprentice's gaze lit up as she saw Cloverbreeze heading towards the camp entrance. _She must be heading to the moonpool!_

Noticing her, the medicine cat paused and twitched her ears. "What's up, Finchpaw? You've never been this excited to see me before!"

"Oh, you just reminded me of something," Finchpaw answered hastily.

Cloverbreeze let a purr of amusement. "I hope it doesn't have to do anything with getting mouse-bile for the elders' ticks? I'm late enough leaving for the moonpool today as it is!"

Finchpaw shook. "No, just something," she told the medicine cat. "Thanks!"

She took the opportunity to rush over to the fresh-kill pile, greeting Emberpaw with another shove.

"Hey, what's that for?" he complained, dropping the sparrow he was carrying.

"For whatever stupid joke you're going to tell next," Finchpaw answered, snagging the sparrow with one claw. "Hey, can I share this with you?"

Her brother nodded, eyes shining. "I caught it on the way back to camp, with this _amazing_ leap! I was, like, totally flying! I was, like, at the top of the great sarcomere! I could, like, touch the stars!"

Finchpaw grimaced. "That isn't a joke, okay? That's a reference!" She sent him a glare. "But I won't shove you this time, I'm hungry."

"Fair enough," Emberpaw commented, crouching.

She did the same, nudging the sparrow between them before taking a big bite, savoring the flavor. "Mm! There's a reason why sparrow's my favorite!"

Sagepaw plopped down next to Emberpaw, carrying a mouse, and Midnightpaw joined them as well with a big shrew.

"Hey guys!" she mewed enthusiastically.

"Hi," Sagepaw echoed, in his quieter, calmer, more serious voice. Also known as the relieving contrast to Midnightpaw who somehow happened to still be her sister.

Finchpaw waved her tail in greetings. "I'm saying now, Midnightpaw," she mewed. "That I would have won that battle if Emberpaw hadn't told that joke."

"Maybe so, maybe not so!" Midnightpaw answered cheerfully. "Either way, I love that joke now. Real good for battles. Don't forget that one, okay, Emberpaw? You got that? The next time I fight Finchpaw you're going to tell it!"

"Hey!" Finchpaw complained, flicking Midnightpaw with her tail. "That's not fair! You know I can't help but be annoyed whenever he tells one of his stupid jokes!"

Laughing, Midnightpaw batted Finchpaw with one paw. "That's not _my_ problem!"

Finchpaw tackled Midnightpaw, who glanced at Emberpaw. "Tell the joke! Tell the joke!"

Emberpaw shook his head. "Nah."

Staring, Midnightpaw sputtered, "But-but you said you would!"

"I didn't agree to it, I didn't not agree to it," Emberpaw clarified. "Besides, sister loyalty comes first."

Finchpaw grinned, puffing out her chest happily.

"Just joking!"

The golden brown tabby let out an angry hiss and shoved her brother, and Midnightpaw took the opportunity to leap at her. Emberpaw grinned at his sister's reaction before taking shelter behind Sagepaw, who was rolling his eyes.

"Seriously, we already had this argument!" he was complaining. "Can't we, say, talk normally for once?"

Emberpaw poked Sagepaw with one paw, watching the she-cats' tussle. "Nope!"

. . .

The next morning Finchpaw got up early, wanting to see what Cloverbreeze was like when she came back from the moonpool. She hadn't ever paid attention to the medicine cat's attention and body posture before, but now having had her own experience at the moonpool and planning to return today, the apprentice was actually very curious about what Cloverbreeze saw and lived when she visited with her fellow medicine cats.

Finchpaw winced slightly, remembering Icepaw. Of course, none of the clans had a medicine cat apprentice at moment (Surprisingly enough), but knowing her medicine cat was the oldest made her feel... uneasy...

 _Geez, I hope she doesn't die before she trains someone else!_

"Mistakes happen, but denial and acceptance can be hard to fix and find," a low voice murmured behind her.

Finchpaw spun around, but she didn't see anyone, nor did she recognize the voice. She thought she saw a wisp of brilliant blue eyes, but when the tabby apprentice blinked they were gone.

 _Who or what was that?_

No, it was definitely a who, but...

Dazzled, Finchpaw shrugged and moved a safe distance away from the apprentice den, instead standing in the shadows closer to the warrior's den.

The camp entrance rustled, and a brown-and-white tabby she-cat padded in, amber eyes gleaming. Cloverbreeze!

Finchpaw dropped into a crouch, watching the medicine cat closely. Her eyes were just the same shade, and didn't really give away any emotion. The medicine cat walked slowly, at a comfortable stroll, but her ears were twitching.

 _That looks like she's feeling uneasy,_ she noted internally.

Cloverbreeze scanned the clearing, and when her gaze met Finchpaw's, she frowned. The golden brown tabby she-cat didn't blame the medicine cat- why would an apprentice be staring at her from the shadows when she came into camp?

But Finchpaw's hackles rose when Cloverbreeze started trotting towards her, pace faster now that she had a specific purpose.

The apprentice stiffened and started backing towards the apprentice den, slipping inside and lying down behind Emberpaw, who was still snoring softly in his nest. She hoped that her brother would be enough to hide her incase Cloverbreeze was determined enough to look inside the den for her.

"Finchpaw?" Cloverbreeze called from outside. "I'd like to speak with you, would you come out for a minute please?"

Finchpaw didn't respond, holding her breath. _Is she suspicious of me? Has she figured what I did the night before yesterday?_

"I know you're awake," Cloverbreeze continued. Her voice sounded tired this time. "Please come outside."

She stayed still.

"Look, I really don't want to bring Ashbreeze into this, but I would like very much for you to come out here so I can talk to you," the medicine cat ordered at last.

 _I can't have Ashbreeze involved!_ Finchpaw hopped reluctantly to her feet and slipped outside. "Yes?" she muttered.

"Why were you watching me when I came in? And yesterday, when I left? I think it was something bigger then just reminding you of something?" Cloverbreeze peered at Finchpaw curiously.

"Well, you're wrong," she mewed tartly. "You just reminded me of things both times, just different things!"

Cloverbreezze sighed softly. "Finchpaw, I found pawprints in a patch of mud at the moonpool, and I can't help but think that they belong to you," she mewed suddenly. "Do they? Answer me honestly."

"I-I... Those aren't my pawprints," Finchpaw stuttered nervously.

"Then why were you watching me so closely when I came and left? Did you have a dream the night before the halfmoon, perhaps, and worried that it meant something bad would happen to me?"

Finchpaw shook her head. "I only saw those two-" Mouse-dung! She shouldn't have said that...

"Two cats? Who were they?" Cloverbreeze asked, fixing her intent gaze on Finchpaw.

"No one," Finchpaw muttered. Seeing Ashbreeze emerge from the warrior's den, she hurried over, letting out a sigh of relief as Ashbreeze hustled them out of camp. When she looked back she saw Cloverbreez staring after her.

 _I can't tell you, I'm sorry._

Finchpaw let out a soft sigh as she and Ashbreeze padded into the forest.

"What's wrong?" Ashbreeze asked, glancing at her.

"I don't want to talk about it."

So the two fell into silence. Finchpaw pricked her ears, feeling a little more enthusiastic and energetic when she saw the training hollow coming up ahead of them. "Are we doing more battle training today?"

"No, there's just something that-"

"Attack!" A voice yowled.

Finchpaw was knocked to the ground by a dark ginger golden tabby tom.

"Claws sheathed!" Ashbreeze ordered. "Pin them!"

Her mentor was fighting a dark brown tom with fierce amber eyes, battling it out as they rolled over and over.

 _Claws sheathed? Dark ginger golden tabby tom? Dark brown tom?_

Finchpaw knew who these cats were- Voletooth and Emberpaw! They must be having a surprise training exercise!

She jumped away from Emberpaw, tail lashing as she watched her brother.

Unlike his typical foolish, playful self, he looked fierce and concentrated on the battle. His dark reddish amber eyes stared at Finchpaw in an echo of her own actions, and she drew herself lower to the ground, ready to charge.

Emberpaw beat her to the offensive move. He darted forwards and swiped at Finchpaw, causing her to rear up to avoid the blow. As she started to send blows at her brother, he ducked under her and leapt for her belly.

Unprepared for the move, Finchpaw was flung backwards, and she twisted just in time to land hardly on her side.

"Ouch!"

Pain shot through Finchpaw's shoulder and foreleg, the one that had received the shock and force behind her landing.

Emberpaw was at her side in an instant. "Finchpaw? Are you okay?"

Ashbreeze and Voletooth joined him.

"What hurts?" Ashbreeze asked gently, nudging Finchpaw.

"My leg..." Using her three good legs, she pulled herself up into a sitting position.

"I'm sorry!" Emberpaw exclaimed. "I was the one who threw you like that!"

Voletooth flicked the apprentice with his tail. "It wasn't your fault," he chided.

"Yeah, I think it was mine," Finchpaw admitted. "I tried to twist over, but I should have realized I didn't have enough time to do so before landing, and therefore I ended up on my side."

The four cats were silent for a moment.

"Well, let's get you back to camp so Cloverbreeze can check you over," Ashbreeze mewed at last.

 _Cloverbreeze? Great StarClan, she'll start asking me about the moonpool again!_

"Okay," Finchpaw muttered.

. . .

"You've sprained your leg," Cloverbreeze announced, stepping back from Finchpaw.

 _What?_ Dismayed, Finchpaw attempted to struggle to her feet, but the medicine cat simply pushed her back down. "From landing?" she protested. "And what about my warrior training?" _And I was planning to go to the moonpool tonight, too! How can I do that with a sprained leg?_

The medicine cat sighed. "I'm sorry, Finchpaw, but your training will have to wait."

"Well, can't I at least go out into the clearing to eat and chat with Emberpaw?" Finchpaw asked, eyes wide.

"No, at least not in the first few days. You've got to stay in your nest and rest- don't overdo it." Came Cloverbreeze's persistent supply.

She moved to head over to her herbs and start sorting them, but paused and looked back at Finchpaw. "I know you visited the moonpool," she mewed quietly. "And I know StarClan sent you some sort of dream. I just want to know what that dream was. I can't make you tell me, but I can ask you to... Finchpaw, StarClan has told me I would have an apprentice soon, and I can't help but wonder if your ventures mean you are to be that cat."

"What?" Finchpaw flattened her ears. "Never! No way! I'm not ever going to be a medicine cat apprentice!"

Cloverbreeze sighed. "As I said, I'm not sure. But you are making ever more confident that you are the cat StarClan meant."

 _But, I'm going to be a warrior! I am! She can't make me be a medicine cat- besides, Icepaw is her apprentice!_

 _Icepaw!_

Stiffened, Finchpaw recalled the voice from earlier. It had been a tom voice, and Cloverbreeze had been approaching... Was it safe to say that _Icepaw_ had spoken to her?

"Mistakes happen, but denial and acceptance can be hard to fix and find," he had said- or whoever it really was.

 _Mistakes happen, duh. I know that. Everyone knows that._

"Cloverbreeze..." Finchpaw began uncertainly. "I'm curious. Does StarClan speak straightly to you, or do their words have hidden meanings, or... or what?"

"They are forbidden to give us just the answers," Cloverbreeze answered. "So they guide us along the right paths. Why do you ask?"

Finchpaw swallowed. "No reason." She looked away from the medicine cat, sighing and resting her head on her paws.

Assuming Icepaw had been the one who spoke, and Cloverbreeze had told her the truth, then Icepaw could have meant _anything_ with what he said. Anything in the whole wide world, maybe even something only StarClan cats knew of for all Finchpaw knew!

She flashed her claws angrily, as if somehow threatening Icepaw to come back and tell her more. But all Finchpaw got was the same, echoing sentence.

 _Mistakes happen, but denial and acceptance can be hard to fix and find._

 _What does it mean?_

Finchpaw let out a huff and set her chin down on her good forepaw, ears twitching. She didn't feel like being awake, nor like sleeping, so she simply... rested and dazed, the medicine cat continuing her chores and duties around the tabby apprentice in silence. But she knew Cloverbreeze's thoughts would be whirling as she tried to piece together Finchpaw's knowledge and memories.

Sighing internally, Finchpaw bristled her fur (always a good, refreshing thing to do when she was unsettled and angry) and closed her eyes tightly. Despite her unwillingness to sleep, the next day would come quicker if she did, and all she wanted was to get to the next chapter of her life. The next moment, leaving this one behind.

But Cloverbreeze would question her again. Finchpaw knew the old medicine cat was persistent, and she wouldn't give up until she knew what she wanted know, to the golden brown tabby apprentice's dismay.

Her belly rumbled, and Finchpaw snorted, raising her head and blinking open her eyes, glaring at Cloverbreeze. "Can I have something to eat, please?"

"Of course," Cloverbreeze mewed. "I'll fetch you a squirrel. We can't have you starving to death if we want your leg to get better, after all!"

 _'Starve to death.'_ Finchpaw rolled her eyes irritably. _She's supposed to be a medicine cat! It isn't very cheerful when she mentions there's a chance of everyone forgetting to feed me and I die that way! I'd rather die from a stupid sprained leg!_

"I'm not normally like this," Finchpaw muttered to herself. "Being in this den is driving me insane, and I've barely been here!"

She a deep sniff and sneezed at the sweet-smelling herbs. The tabby apprentice would get used to this soon enough, if Cloverbreeze wouldn't let her go outside to get a breath of fresh air.

The thought of rebellion made her purr. _Cloverbreeze would kill me if she caught me standing up!_ Finchpaw recalled the push from earlier. _She'd be furious if she learned I went to the moonpool again tonight!_

If she could make it there, that was.

Finchpaw shifted her leg and grunted. That was a big if.

But Cloverbreeze padded in just then, and dropped a big squirrel in front of Finchpaw, and her rumbling belly shooed her other thoughts away. "Dig in!"

* * *

 **There may have been a few too many events in this chapter, going from Cloverbreeze's return all the way to stuck in the medicine den, but Cloverbreeze really seems to have become a much more major character in the story now. Icepaw, too, is growing in importance... (We've got plans for him in the future now.)**

 **Basically Finchpaw's going to be pretty grumpy until she gets outside, as you probably have already guessed. Cloverbreeze really isn't the cat she wants to be stuck with right now, especially with her wish/thoughts to switch Finchpaw to her own apprentice.**

 **There's probably going to be at least four more chapters until we can explain what's behind that, though, so for now... Eh, pretty much unless if you guessed what that's about and what that ties into, if you're still curious about it you'll have to wait a while. Aka 4-8 days.**

 **Personally, our favorite part may be the last section, because we had a lot fewer one liners over there and added a little more thought and detail and less talking in the story, more of a character moment rather then an action moment.**

 **Also, we're starting to think about pairing up Midnightpaw and Emberpaw... They're both cheerful and energetic, so... Yeah.**

 **Well, that's enough from us.**

 **(Except for one final note: This chapter has 3,000 words! :D We achieved our chapter goal!)**

 **~Qashi and Tsuara**


	6. Chapter 5: Realization

**Well, thanks again to Featherfall's Lullaby! (Honestly, just one big thanks for reviewing and encouraging us, so on.) Tsuara and I will go back over the previous chapter to fix the typos/miswritten things. Also thanks to Guest for his/her review!**

 **Chapters seem to be getting slower updates... We may not keep the 3,000+ goal for every chapter, because it slows down updates, but we'll see.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5:**

Finchpaw was sprawled on her side in her nest, eyes open as she watched Cloverbreeze sort through her herbs. Just like yesterday, and the day before, and the day before. Her bored expression not only seemed to live on her face but on her body posture, golden eyes dull and her body limp and stretched out. She was tired of just lying down and doing nothing all day, Cloverbreeze wouldn't let her sit up or even talk to Emberpaw or Midnightpaw when they came to visit her for too long.

"You have to have plenty of rest so your sprained leg can heal sooner," she would say, shooing her friends outside. "You can catch up with them some other time, but for now I want to put some comfrey on your leg and then you should sleep."

But Finchpaw was tired of sleeping. She would groan and protest, but Cloverbreeze wouldn't change her mind. "Stop sulking," she would tell the apprentice. "You're here to rest and heal your leg, not complain your heard off to me about having nothing to do."

Of course, the golden brown tabby apprentice had learned some things during the past three days. For instance, if she grumbled enough Cloverbreeze's gentle but stern outer shell would be replaced by a thoroughly annoyed, snappish she-cat who would tell her to be silent while she finished up with her herbs and left the den to clear her head.

Being confined to her makeshift nest also left her plenty of time to think about the words she had heard from the cat, but it didn't necessarily mean she had figured out much...

'Mistakes happen,' had been Finchpaw's main focus, and assuming it was Icepaw the only mistake she could think of would be something small. Like, stepping on a thorn as an apprentice or accidently feeding deathberries to some cat, which she was sure would have been mentioned by the elders if it had happened.

No, the only information she had to work with concerning Icepaw was that he had disappeared out in the snow, and unless he had mistakenly gotten lost she didn't see a connection.

Yet Finchpaw remained certain there _was_ a connection of some sort. If StarClan had told Cloverbreeze that soon enough she would have an apprentice, then wouldn't that also involve the old apprentice?

Icepaw's words weren't what bothered her the most, however. It was the fact that she couldn't sneak out and go to the moonpool with her sprained leg that drove Finchpaw crazy, just like the boredom. If she could only ask the Rosepetal cat what Icepaw had meant, perhaps she would know everything behind the confusion so far!

"Well, that's all my herbs," Cloverbreeze remarked, pushing the last pile back into the crack in the cave wall where she kept her herbs. "That's each and every one of them, but it just doesn't seem to be enough."

She glanced at Finchpaw, who was still laying limply in her nest. "I'm going to bring you a mouse and then I'm going to go out and gather up some borage. Somebody's going to have to move into the nursery soon, so I might as well get myself prepared for that. You get some more rest while I'm gone, and be sure to keep off your leg, still! If it looks good enough later you can watch Olivepaw and Tigerpaw's warrior ceremonies later today."

That got Finchpaw's attention.

Jerking her head to stare at Cloverbreeze with her golden eyes stretched wide in shock, the golden brown tabby apprentice was about to jump to her feet when she remembered Cloverbreeze's warning. "When did they have their warrior assessments?"

"Yesterday," the medicine cat answered, looking slightly confused. "Didn't Emberpaw and Midnightpaw tell you?"

"No!" Came Finchpaw's despaired cry. She had only been gone from warrior training for three days, how come she had already missed what felt like so much? And why hadn't they told her- surely they couldn't have forgotten?

Finchpaw flattened her ears and shrugged to herself. "Well, bring me that mouse, please," she mewed, twisting in her nest so that she was in more of a crouching position, chin resting on her good paw. "And if anything else so important happens, could you please tell me?"

Cloverbreeze looked startled by Finchpaw's use of the word 'please.' The apprentice had been grumpy and irritable the past three days, and the medicine cat hadn't expected to hear a kind word travel from the injured cat to her. "Sure," she responded after a moment. "I'll be sure to do so, Finchpaw. I'll be back in a moment with that mouse, let me just go grab it from the fresh-kill pile!"

The medicine cat turned and slipped from the den, leaving Finchpaw to sigh and close her eyes. _The next time Emberpaw and Midnightpaw stop by, I'll ask them why they didn't tell me._

It didn't take long for Cloverbreeze to return, a mouse hanging from the brown-and-white tabby she-cat's jaws. She tossed it towards Finchpaw and it landed with a soft thump in front of her. "See you later," Cloverbreeze mewed, before disappearing from the medicine cat den a second time.

Finchpaw took a small bite of mouse, thinking.

 _There aren't any reasons for Emberpaw not to have told me, right? And neither for Midnightpaw. They should have told me yesterday, the day it happened- they know I'd be interested to hear about it!_

She felt her bad mood slowly return, and she tore another bite away from the mouse, swallowing it down roughly.

The tabby apprentice looked up as two cats padded into the medicine cat den, eyes widening as she recognized them as them parents, Hollyear and Owlclaw.

"Hi," Hollyear mewed softly, licking Finchpaw's forehead affectionately. "We're sorry we didn't visit you earlier, but we were chosen to help with Olivepaw and Tigerpaw's warrior assessments, yesterday, and Birdflight kept us busy the days before. We wanted to visit you together, but we couldn't find a time that worked."

Finchpaw let out a small purr, reluctant to carry her bad mood onto her parents' shoulders. "Thanks for coming," she mewed.

"Of course!" Owlclaw mewed, sitting next to Hollyear. "How does your leg feel? I hope you feel okay!"

"I'm fine, dad," Finchpaw answered.

"Good," Hollyear purred.

There was a yowl from the clearing, calling for Hollyear and Owlclaw both, and Finchpaw felt a small pang of disappointment. _Stupid hunting patrol,_ she thought. _Does it have to be right this moment?_

Hollyear sighed and reluctantly moved towards the exit of the den, Owlclaw trailing after her. "We'll visit you again as soon as we can," they promised.

Finchpaw nodded a goodbye and lay her chin on her paws for what seemed like the millionth time today, anger starting to brew yet again. How was it that she barely had to spend any time cooped up in the medicine cat den to be stormed with negative emotions? The apprentice mulled over her thoughts, plucking them into activity before letting them go.

A flash shocked her. _I'll never be a medicine cat apprentice, never!_ She though fiercely, feeling good to have something she could presently direct her anger at. _Cloverbreeze can't force me, it's always my decision in the end because it would be happening to me!_

 _And Icepaw! How stupid can StarClan cats be? I'm not a medicine cat, why did he give me that stupid old message? I don't care about mistakes, they happen and they're forgotten! And it's his mentor who wants me as her apprentice!_

The apprentice shut her eyes, tail flicking wildly around her.

 _Mouse-brained medicine cats._

A calmer, more sensible part of Finchpaw told her sternly, _We need the medicine cats. They're calm and wise, and they know how to work with herbs. You should respect them, not scorn them._

Sighing, Finchpaw opened her eyes and studied the rock wall of the den, waiting for Cloverbreeze to return so that she would have someone to talk and snap to.

. . .

It felt like days before the brown-and-white tabby medicine cat strolled casually into the den.

Finchpaw perked, raising her to look at Cloverbreeze. "How was herb collecting?" she asked, preparing to grumble unhappily as Cloverbreeze engaged her in some sort of conversation.

"Wonderfully so," Cloverbreeze answered. "There was a surprisingly large amount of borage at this time of the year, when Leaffall is coming upon us so soon!"

"Really?" The golden brown tabby apprentice muttered in response, uninterested in talking about herbs. "Cloverbreeze? Can I ask you something? About... Well, can I just ask you something?"

She wasn't sure whether this was a good question to ask, for Cloverbreeze or for her own pestering questions, but Finchpaw was certain that she would get _something_ out of asking questions, even if it wasn't very much. And something would be a lot better then the nothing she had already collected from thinking things over by herself, along with the StarClan questions she had asked Cloverbreeze the first day.

"Sure," the medicine cat shrugged, looking curious. "What about?"

"Well..."

Finchpaw took a small breath. "I wanted to know more about Icepaw's disappearance..."

Cloverbreeze took in a sharp intake of breath, loud and hoarse, before slowly letting it trickle back out. "Why?" was all she answered.

"I-I'm curious, the elders didn't tell me much, and then I was thinking about how StarClan told you you'd have an apprentice soon, and it reminded me of Icepaw and all," Finchpaw asked, twitching her ears as a wave of determination surged through her- she would get her answers.

"Very well..."

The medicine cat paused, readied herself, and then continued. "I-I sent Icepaw towards the WindClan border to collect some herbs, because I knew that Ravenwing, an elder and whom I also believe is your great-great-grandmother, was taking a walk alone down there, where the lake met the WindClan stream, because she liked the view there. I thought Icepaw would be able to keep an eye on her without getting Ravenwing suspicious or hyped up about us being cautious."

Finchpaw pricked her ears, straining. "And?"

"And he never came back," Cloverbreeze finished sharply. The brown-and-white tabby she-cat turned around and was suddenly very interested in her herbs.

Feeling back, Finchpaw flattened her ears slightly. "I'm sorry," she breathed. From the sound of it, Cloverbreeze blamed herself for sending Icepaw off towards there. She felt somewhat like what she was the reason Icepaw was gone. When the medicine cat said nothing in response, Finchpaw gently added, "What about Ravenwing? Did she come back? What did she look like?"

"Ravenwing came back. Later, when we sent out patrols to find Icepaw, she said she hadn't sensed him there at all. She was traumatized that someone in the same area as her had just... disappeared. The grief killed her less then a moon earlier, along with her own being frail." Cloverbreeze answered. "She was a long-furred black she-cat, with just gorgeous green eyes. She was quieter; her two kits, Hollyheart and Goldenhawk, were abandoned rogue kits that she adopted... So I guess she isn't actually your great-great-grandmother, but Hollyheart is your mother, Hollyear's, grandmother."

Finchpaw stiffened. A longer-furred black she-cat with green eyes... Mother to a Hollyheart and a Goldenhawk- Goldenkit?

This sounded just like the cats from the dream about the black she-cat, Goldenbramble, and their three kits! But what about Rosekit? And they weren't adopted!

"Some secrets are discovered or told. Other secrets are kept and protected forever," Icepaw whispered.

The golden brown tabby apprentice looked behind her, but she saw nothing more then an eerie flash of blue eyes.

 _Are you saying they did something to keep the secret of them being mates? By... By each taking a kit or two back to their camp and saying they found them as abandoned rogue kits? And... And these cats were her great-great-grandparents?_

"Really?" Finchpaw answered. "I didn't know I had rogue blood!" _More like RiverClan, if I'm right!_ "Hey, that's just like I heard that a Rose-something was a rogue kit taken in by RiverClan! At least, I think I heard that."

"You're correct," the medicine cat mewed. "Rosefern of RiverClan was found, abandoned, as a rogue."

 _But..._

Finchpaw's mind was whirling, but she didn't afford to stop talking and raise suspicious, though she was also afraid she'd do the same by continuing to talk. Not only did Ravenwing and Goldenbramble appear to be real, but they were her ancestors! Her kin!

"Oh, it looks like its the warrior ceremony!" Cloverbreeze exclaimed. "Let's get you out into the clearing."

The apprentice rose to her feet, gently testing her sprained leg. It felt a lot better- weird, but a lot better and a lot more like normal.

"Can I get back to training soon?" she asked as she hobbled and Cloverbreeze trotted out of the medicine cat den.

"Yes," the brown-and-white tabby she-cat answered simply. "Four more days at most, but you're recovering quickly. It wasn't a terrible sprain to start with, but you had the force in a painful spot. "

Finchpaw sat stiffly beside Cloverbreeze, and Hollyear and Emberpaw slipped through the crowd to sit beside her.

Still stunned about her RiverClan-ThunderClan kin, and also angry at Emberpaw for not telling her about the warrior ceremony, she didn't turn her head to acknowledge them, only leaned into her mother's pelt.

"Today we gather for the most important ceremony in a cat's life," Hazelstar was mewing. "Olivepaw, Tigerpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do!" Olivepaw vowed instantly, eyes shining with purpose and sincerity.

"I do," Tigerpaw echoed, calm but sure and steady.

"And Birdflight, Vixenheart, do you agree that your apprentices are ready to become warriors?" The light brown tabby she-cat asked, turning to the two mentors.

The deputy rose lightly to her feet. "Yes, Hazelstar," she mewed formally. "My apprentice, Olivepaw, is more then ready to join her older clanmates in warrior-hood. She has learned and demonstrated plenty that she is ready for this new title."

"Tigerpaw knows how to hunt and fight as well as any cat here," Vixenheart added. "He will be a valuable asset to ThunderClan."

Hazelstar's eyes sparkled as she watched the two apprentices. "Then I, Hazelstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these apprentices. They have trained hard to learn the ways of their noble code, and I for that I commend them to you as warriors in their turn."

The ThunderClan leader bounded down the highledge and stood before the two apprentices.

"Tigerpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Tigerleap, in honor of your daring and sensibility. We welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

The newly named Tigerleap licked Hazelstar's shoulder respectively and then stepped back, leaving room for his sister to receive her own name. Olivepaw looked very excited, but had icy claws of control keeping her from acting in an unrespectable fashion. When Tigerleap moved back she padded forward a few steps, gazing into Hazelstar's dark blue eyes.

"Olivepaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Olivepetal, in honor of your kindness and loyalty." Hazelstar continued, training her eyes on the new warrior. "We welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Olivepaw- no, Olive _petal_ licked Hazelstar's shoulder respectively before stepping back as well, touching noses with her brother, Tigerleap.

"Tigerleap! Olivepetal! Tigerleap! Olivepetal!" ThunderClan cheered loudly.

Finchpaw made sure to shout their names as loud as she could, since Cloverbreeze wouldn't let her walk over to congratulate them personally- not today, at least.

As the cheers died down the clan weaved around the two newest warriors, speaking kind words and cheering them on, Emberpaw and Hollyear slipped away to join the throng. Cloverbreeze, however, stayed by Finchpaw's side, and for once the golden brown tabby she-cat found herself happy to be alone in the medicine cat's presence- whether she liked it or not, she was starting to grow used to having the brown-and-white tabby she-cat alone.

"Let's get back to the den," Finchpaw mewed after a moment.

Cloverbreeze nodded. "Think you can walk there?"

"Of course!" Finchpaw decreed, standing back up. She padded back to her nest and lay down. "Can I do some more walking before we go to bed?"

"Well..." The medicine cat thought for a moment. "Okay... But once most cats are in their dens, so we don't disturb anyone and have more room to ourselves. I don't want to go too hard on your leg, but you're right that we should keep using it."

Finchpaw purred happily. "I may take a nap before then," she warned, closing her eyes.

"Right, then!"

Cloverbreeze seemed to be a little astonished that Finchpaw hadn't snapped at her, and so the apprentice opened her eyes for a moment. "Bring me a mouse before, though, please?" she asked in a grumpy tone.

The medicine cat smiled and nodded. "Will do."

 _And after I get to walk, I get to think more about what Icepaw said.. the first time, and maybe the second thing he said as well._

* * *

 **Well, this chapter covered a lot small duration of time then in comparison to the others, it seems. But there was more detail and fewer one-liners, which we're happy about.**

 **Basically this chapter covers Finchpaw figuring things out and warming up somewhat to Cloverbreeze.**

 **Anyways, the 3,000+ goal has been met again... The chapter itself was 2,888 words and the final two words are easily covered in our notes. So cheers for that.**

 **Uh... so hopefully we'll update a little quicker next time.**

 **Oh, and we/aka Tsuara drew a picture of Finchpaw for the story picture, though we may not keep it. We describe Finchpaw as golden brown but we can't actually figure out what we want/Tsuara wanted golden brown to look like.**

 **-Qashi and Tsuara-**

 **(Oh, and [Chapter Edit] we just realized we have two more favorites! Thanks a lot, we're really grateful and happy to hear people are enjoying our story! :D So, another super-big thanks to Featherfall's Lullaby and Sleepynels for adding this story to your favorites!)**


	7. Chapter 6: Planning

**Hello again! It's been a few days... We got a little out of this story, but I think after staying up late tonight writing we've pulled ourselves back into the story, so Chapter 7 should be out sooner rather then later in comparison to Chapter 6's slow publishing process.**

 **Well, another nice review from Featherfall! Today I think we won't go any farther then a thank-you, because we/I may accidently spill a few plot pieces if I continue. So an extra big thanks instead for the review!**

 **Reviews/Review noted, here is Chapter 6.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6:**

"Come on!" Cloverbreeze called. "Let's get that night exercise done, unless if you want to keep on sleeping on and on and on."

Finchpaw blinked, cracking open her sleep-crusted eyes. Had she really managed to fall asleep since Olivepetal and Tigerleap's warrior ceremony? She shrugged and rose to her feet, moving to join the medicine cat.

"Yeah, yeah," she answered dismissively.

They padded outside and the golden brown tabby apprentice caught sight of ThunderClan's two newest warriors as they started their silent vigil for the night.

Finchpaw waved her tail in hello as they looked her way, and Olivepetal gave a small smile before returning her steady gaze to the camp entrance. Tigerleap ruffled his brown tabby fur and looked away as well, nodding to her as he did so.

The apprentice jumped as Cloverbreeze exclaimed, "Stop!"

She looked back at the medicine cat as the brown-and-white tabby hurried forwards, plucking something off the ground and spitting it towards the edge of the clearing.

"What was it?" Finchpaw asked curiously, slightly annoyed. "A bug?"

"No, a thorn," the medicine cat answered. "We don't want you favoring two paws at once."

Was Finchpaw favoring her sprained leg?

Looking down at her legs, she supposed it was true that she wasn't putting quite as much weight on her injured paw in comparison to the others, but Finchpaw didn't think it was enough to count as favoring. _She's just exaggerating,_ she told herself, pulling a face.

"Walk to the warrior's den and back," Cloverbreeze answered, interrupting her thoughts.

The golden brown tabby apprentice nodded sharply and started to hobble across the clearing. It wasn't too long a distance, but Finchpaw didn't argue for her leg felt a little strained by the time she returned to Cloverbreeze's side.

"Is that it?" she asked, disappointed.

"No." Cloverbreeze shook her head. "I want you to run, now, to the warrior's den and back."

Finchpaw widened her eyes. "Okay..."

Turning towards her target, she started into a sprint. Her leg felt a little wobbly under the extra pressure, and she worried about it buckling, before Finchpaw thought of how the medicine cat would baby her if it did and so she hurried on, determined not to let it buckle. By the time she made it back she not only panting from losing endurance but the muscles in her leg were stiff and strained from not being used for so long.

"Good job," Cloverbeeze mewed. After a moment she narrowed her eyes and flicked her tail, adding, " _Now_ that's it. Let's get back to the medicine den. If you feel up to it, you can help me collect herbs tomorrow and that'll get you back into using that leg."

When Finchpaw frowned- she wasn't a medicine cat apprentice and never would be -the medicine cat added, "You're going to have to get plenty of exercise if you want to be able to go to the gathering."

"But the Gathering's in, what, nine days?" Finchpaw answered. "If there's four more days at most until I can return to duties, then how will my leg affect whether I can go or not?"

"Fine." Cloverbreeze sighed. "Help me collect herbs and you'll be able to return to apprentice training sooner rather then later- also, you'll have some brownie points to help get you onto the Gathering patrol, because you helped me out even though you're still recovering." The brown-and-white tabby medicine cat prodded Finchpaw gently. "And that's how your leg affects you being able to go to the Gathering."

Rolling her eyes, Finchpaw shrugged. "Fine, then. I'll go. But don't you get the idea that I'm going to fall in love with collecting herbs and become your apprentice!"

"No worries," Cloverbreeze answered. "You're making it more and more obvious you'd rather die then live in the medicine den."

Finchpaw nodded elaborately as they slipped into the medicine cat den. "Glad you understand," she retorted, curling into her nest. As Cloverbreeze did the same, she blinked, yawned, and mewed, "Good night," to the medicine cat.

. . .

"Rise and shine!" The medicine cat's cheerful mew woke Finchpaw.

Grumbling, the golden brown tabby apprentice opened her eyes. "Why are you waking me up so early?" she complained, ending her questing with a big yawn before adding, "I'm hungry! Did you bring me something to eat?"

"We're collecting herbs, remember?" Cloverbreeze answered. "You can get your own food today."

Finchpaw pushed herself up onto her feet. "But-"

"But this medicine cat is not here to provide you with food day after day after day," Cloverbreeze mewed sternly. "This medicine cat is here to help your leg recover, which won't happen if you don't start using it again."

Narrowing her eyes, the warrior apprentice stood up. "But I was up late exercising yesterday," she countered. "Doesn't that mean I get to sleep in late?"

"I thought warriors got up at dawn."

"I thought medicine cats didn't deprive their patients of sleep!"

Cloverbreeze rolled her eyes. "You had three whole days of sleep. Doesn't that work for you?"

"Too much sleep!" Finchpaw groaned. "And now too little!"

But, giving in, the apprentice trotted out of the medicine cat den and towards the fresh-kill pile, stretching her legs and navigating the crowd of warriors as Birdflight assigned the patrols for the day.

"Maplestorm, take Thrushsong, Sagepaw, and Ashbreeze out on a hunting patrol," Birdflight was ordering as Finchpaw crossed the clearing. "And Oakpoppy, grab Vixenheart, Ravencloud, and Twigbreeze, for a border patrol. Owlclaw, find yourself some cats for another border patrol, and divide the territory between Voletooth's patrol and yourself. Try and hunt on your way back if the prey seems promising."

Finchpaw flattened her ears slightly as she leaned down and grabbed a small squirrel from the fresh-kill pile, wishing she could go on one of the patrols. After all, her mentor was assigned to go hunting!

But with her leg, it wouldn't be unlikely for Finchpaw to be a little clumsy compared to her normal self, and she didn't want to embarrass herself... Best to stick with Cloverbreeze.

She crouched and began to nibble swiftly at the squirrel, eyes trained on the activity in camp; the patrols as they gathered and left the hollow, Fawnleap's three kits as they tumbled in a play fight, Quailflight, Rosepetal, and Robinwing as they sunned themselves on the flat stones in the corner of camp. Finchpaw relished the feeling of... well, normal activity as she observed her clanmates.

Finchpaw began to work to suppress a yawn as Emberpaw and Midnightpaw padded to a halt in front of Finchpaw, their eyes shining.

"What?" The apprentice mewed bluntly as she looked up, remembering her newly found grudge with her two friends.

A small part of Finchpaw's mind pricked as she realized that Emberpaw, too, carried RiverClan blood, being her brother. _He sure doesn't look like it,_ she thought, nearly purring. _We're loyal ThunderClan apprentices, no matter what our family might have once been._

Midnightpaw, looking somewhat confused, sat and titled her head slightly, ears twitching. "What's wrong with you?" she asked. "You're always more, well, calm and introverted, but not like _that_!"

Finchpaw frowned- was it really that obvious that she didn't care for Midnightpaw or Emberpaw at the moment.

"Just thinking," she responded lightly. The golden brown tabby she-cat didn't feel that now was the right time to explain why she felt so cold and distant towards the two, especially when her relations to her other friends were just as strong. Instead of leaving opportunity for them to pester her with questions, Finchpaw continued with a question for them. "What are you doing today? How have you guys been?"

Brightening, Midnightpaw ruffled her fur diligently. "We have a hunting assessment!" she announced, sounding excited.

Emberpaw purred in agreement, clearly sharing the optimism of Midnightpaw as he treaded the ground with his forepaws. "Yeah, Voletooth says my hunting has really been coming along really well in the past few days-"

"He learned how to catch prey in the trees!" Midnightpaw interrupted. "That was definitely, like, one of my favorite hunting skills to learn! I love climbing and doing stuff in the trees, because I think it's cool how you're, like, flying. Someday I'm going to climb to the top of the great sarcomere, just like Olivepetal did for her dare! But except of it being private, the whole clan will know, and I'll be famous!"

"Yeah, famous for being stupid." Finchpaw rolled her eyes. "If ThunderClan found out what you plan to do or what Olivepetal already did, you guys would be fresh-kill. And I mean fresh-kill."

The dark golden-ginger form of her brother flashed as he took a few steps away. "Finchpaw, you're acting a little crabby," he mewed, bewildered. "At least for you. What happened?"

Finchpaw, taking and swallowing the last bite of her squirrel, sat up sharply.

"It's nothing," she mewed breezily. "You guys get to your assessments, and good luck. I'll be collecting herbs with Cloverbreeze today, to help exercise my leg. I'll be training again in a few days, no worries!"

She brushed past Midnightpaw and Emberpaw as the apprentice headed rapidly back towards the medicine cat den, unusually relieved to be in the sweet-smelling cave in the hollow wall. The brown-and-white tabby medicine cat frowned at her as she collapsed into her nest and sat down, mewing, "Got a burr in your pelt?"

Guessing that Cloverbreeze would understand what she felt like saying, and not caring to elaborate if she didn't, Finchpaw muttered, "Midnightpaw and Emberpaw came over to me."

"Oh."

There was a moment of quiet as Cloverbreeze studied Finchpaw. "If you really feel that bad that they didn't tell you about the warrior assessments, you should tell them so that they make sure not to do the same sort of thing again in the future. You know what I mean?" The medicine cat hesitated to continue, but did after a few heartbeats. "Icepaw had a similar problem with one of his friends, named Thistlepaw. But when he talked to Thistlepaw, things cleared up for the two of them really quickly. All you need is a little communication."

Finchpaw stiffened, surprised that Cloverbreeze had related, and had been able to, relate her situation with her former apprentice.

"What was Icepaw like?" Finchpaw asked, realizing that the temporary surprise had helped clear some of her distemper. "I mean, like, in personality-wise."

"Icepaw was a calm and serious cat," Cloverbreeze answered slowly. "Somewhat like you, but more... purposeful, in a sense. He was very determined to do the best he could do, and no one doubted that he was strong despite him being a medicine cat instead of a warrior. Icepaw was a respectable cat."

A little disappointed, Finchpaw commented, "So... He was all hard work and no fun?"

"No," the brown-and-white tabby she-cat mewed sharply. "He loved hanging out with his friends, and make a point of walking or hunting with them at least once or twice every few days. Despite being serious, he was definitely social, and he had the compassion of a true medicine cat."

Finchpaw held back a somewhat bitter insult. _Do you have the compassion of a true medicine cat?_

She sighed. Cloverbreeze was a very compassionate cat, and she shouldn't be prepared to say that question so readily to anyone of her clanmates, yet she had been. The warrior apprentice held back a groan as she acknowledge that, despite her newfound 'friendship' or whatever with Cloverbreeze, being cooped up as she was still kept making her grumpier and bitter compared to her normal self.

"Let's get herb collecting?" Finchpaw suggested after a few heartbeats.

Cloverbreeze nodded, rising quickly to her feet. "Yes. We're going to be gathering juniper berries together, since it'll be easier for two cats to gather berries then it is for one cat. That, and the fact that Leaffall isn't too far away from coming upon us."

Finchpaw twitched one ear. "Aren't juniper berries blue or something like that?"

"More of a darker sky blue," the medicine cat clarified.

The golden brown tabby apprentice shrugged. "Both are basically the color blue," she pointed out. "Do the specifics really matter?"

"Well, not all blue berries are juniper berries," Cloverbreeze answered evenly, leading Finchpaw back out of the medicine cat den and into the ThunderClan hollow. "But, practically every juniper berry is blue."

To Finchpaw's relief, not only were Midnightpaw and Emberpaw gone, but Cloverbreeze and Finchpaw's discussion died away as they crossed the camp and ducked out the thorn barrier, careful not to get any thorns stuck in their pelts. Finchpaw was careful not to put too much pressure on her sprained leg when possible, not looking forward to the strained feeling that had accompanied her last night when she had been running to and from the warrior's den.

"Where are the juniper berries located?" Finchpaw asked as Cloverbreeze led her into the forest.

Looking back at her, the brown-and-white tabby she-cat answered, "I know of a few bushes closer to the lake shore on the far side of the territory, but there's also a juniper tree by the ShadowClan border as well that offers good berries. We'll be heading to the shore, however- I don't want you climbing trees quite yet."

"Isn't my leg pretty much healed, though?" Finchpaw asked.

"Well, yes, but no at the same time," Cloverbreeze mewed in response. "Sprained legs, amongst broken legs and twisted limbs, are harder to tell how close they are to normal. With your sprain, I think it's pretty much good, but if you use it too much you'll risk worsening it up again, so that's why I've been so careful about you resting for so long."

The golden brown tabby she-cat shrugged. "That makes some sense. Which is pretty good, considering I'm a warrior apprentice and not a medicine cat apprentice."

Cloverbreeze stiffened, clearly remembering how she had told Finchpaw about StarClan telling her she would have an apprentice again soon.

"Being a medicine cat apprentice isn't as terrible as you may think," she informed Finchpaw as she led them through the trees. "There's a lot more rest and fewer early mornings compared to a warrior apprentice, and you don't have to feed the elders or do their ticks before you get to eat. You still get some battle training, and you still learn how to hunt, but the weight of helping to feed and defend the clan isn't on your shoulders. You have the honor of communicating and talking with StarClan, our warrior ancestors, and-"

"I talked with StarClan and I'm a warrior apprentice," Finchpaw pointed out. She already knew Cloverbreeze had figured out her adventure, so there was no point holding in her comment.

The medicine cat seemed to let out a quiet groan and she paused in her walking, looking back at Finchpaw. "Look, if you're ever going to be my apprentice, you've got to-"

"I'm not ever going to be your apprentice!" Finchpaw snapped. "I want to be a warrior, and you know that? So why can't you accept it and start bothering one of the other apprentices about this? Because I'm not interested in living a stupid life of healing cats!"

Cloverbreeze narrowed her eyes. "As I was saying, if you're ever going to be my apprentice, you would have to start learning to think before you speak. You've proven to have a talent for snapping and growling, especially when it comes to insults and less friendly phrases and topics. Something which even warriors should be able to hold control over, but you don't seem to care."

Finchpaw stopped, mind whirling. Had the medicine cat just... well, taken a bite at her?

"Wait, you're saying I have temper issues or something like that?" she mewed, staring wide-eyed at the brown-and-white tabby she-cat.

"I'm saying that if you keep on like this, I'll consider it," Cloverbreeze clarified gruffly. She began to pick up her pace, forcing Finchpaw to start to trot to keep up with the medicine cat. "Either that, or I'll consider you not having a brain."

The tabby apprenticed snorted at the last one. "I'm tired of being stuck in camp, Cloverbreeze."

"We're in the forest, though," Cloverbreeze answered smoothly.

"I haven't had time to relax and take in lots of fresh air," Finchpaw retorted after a moment of silence.

Looking back at the golden brown tabby she-cat, Cloverbreeze frowned but didn't protest. "If you feel the need, you can take a walk and all and leave me to collect these juniper berries by myself," she mewed. "And please do so if that's really what's been making you such a grump lately."

Needing no more encouragement, Finchpaw darted away through the trees, weaving between them and dodging the undergrowth as she escaped Cloverbreeze and making herself alone with her thoughts at last. She paused after a while, her leg throbbing from all the effort of the long running, and leaned against an aspen, her eyes fluttering opened and closed.

 _I'm alone with my thoughts. Yay,_ she thought, grimacing. It wasn't hard for Finchpaw to think about Icepaw's message about mistakes whenever she was alone, as she had discovered over the past days. And yet she continued to make no promise, which only frustrated her.

She perked as a thought occurred to her. _I could visit the moonpool tonight and Cloverbreeze can't stop me... She'll follow my scent trail to the moonpool and she'll see me, but she won't dare wake me up during a dream with StarClan. That would be disrespectful to our warrior ancestors. And at the moonpool I can ask the Rosepetal cat what Icepaw's words mean, and I'll have the answers I've been wanting!_

Finchpaw bristled her fur, excited at the prospect, and pulled away from the tree. If she wanted to get to the moonpool and start sleeping before Cloverbreeze finished herb collecting and came to find her, she had best leave now.

* * *

 **Well... Another blockier chapter!**

 **Thanks to it being blockier, we really managed to stretch out the day... Which may have meant that we're a little short of events, but we're satisfied with this in general. Cloverbreeze does show a little rougher side today, which seems to be unusual compared to her more normal attitude, but Finchpaw hasn't been great herself. However, getting outside is good for her, so hopefully that'll clear up soon enough.**

 **Anyways, that's it from us for tonight.**

 **~Q and T**


	8. Chapter 7: Icepaw's Disappearance

**Well, we definitely got a lot of reviews since last chapter was put up! A shout-out to Hazeldapple, and thanks a lot. We might never be professional authors, and the prologue was a little short, but I guess you never know, right? Thanks a ton for the follow and favorite!**

 **Another shout-out goes to Featherfall's Lullaby; We're definitely excited to have Finchpaw return to her normal self (Grumpy Finchpaw can be fun to write for some time, but after a while she just seems too negative.). We're actually still partly debating Cloevrbreeze's new apprentice a little bit, to be honest.**

 **And the final shout-out is for Swirlspot! Yeah, we have a few typos (Thanks for pointing out the Rosepetal ones in chapter four, we'll correct those along with the parent name glitch in Chapter 1). Originally, Voletooth was their father and Owlclaw was Emberpaw's mentor, but when we wrote Chapter 1 with Voletooth accidently as Emberpaw's mentor, we made a last-minute switch and probably forgot to edit that bit. Thanks for the favorite and follow!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7:**

Making a second journey to the moonpool was definitely quicker than making the first journey, with or without a bad leg. As Finchpaw slipped through the thorny barrier and emerged into the clearing, she was once again captivated by the millions of paw prints surrounding the pool.

 _Are some of these paw prints the paw prints of Icepaw?_ She wondered. _What about Cloverbreeze?_

The golden brown tabby apprentice shrugged to herself and padded forwards until she stood at the edge of the pool, letting tine wavelets lap at her paws before taking one small step backwards. There, she crouched, getting into a semi-comfortable position, tail stretching out and brushing against the paw prints.

Touching her nose to the pool, Finchpaw welcomed the sudden darkness and then the sense of falling…

Followed by a hard drop onto stony ground and being surrounded by ThunderClan scent.

Finchpaw scrambled to her feet and looked around. Where was the Rosepetal cat? And where were her clanmates? Instead of Voletooth and Emberpaw and Hazelstar and Birdflight, instead of all familiar cats, these ones smelled different and looked different. But they were ThunderClan, all the same.

Her attention was drawn to what seemed to be the only familiar scent out of the ones present, and she scouted the cat out- a long-furred black she-cat with green eyes.

The tabby apprentice blinked, heartbeat quickening. _Will I get the answers I'm looking for? But… But Icepaw's message is the thing with the answers, not Ravenwing and Goldenbramble!_

Still, she bounded over to Ravenwing's side as she emerged from the elders' den and padded towards the camp entrance. She was old, and somewhat frail-looking, but all the same the Ravenwing she had seen before.

A brown-and-white tabby she-cat joined Ravenwing. "Where are you going? Do you me to get a warrior to accompany you?"

 _Cloverbreeze!_

Finchpaw stared at the younger form of her medicine cat today. Cloverbreeze looked just about the same, a little bit smaller, a little bit livelier, but otherwise the exact same cat that had kept her confined to the medicine den just a few days ago.

Ravenwing cocked her head to stare at Cloverbreeze for a few moments. "No thank you," she mewed curtly. "I'm just going for a walk. I don't need warriors swarming around me- I'm perfectly fine on my own."

The medicine cat frowned but didn't protest. "Where are you going?"

"Down by the shore, I suppose," the elder answered after a moment. The black she-cat took a few steps towards the camp entrance. "I haven't seen the lake for what feels like forever."

Torn between following Ravenwing and sticking with Cloverbreeze, the ThunderClan apprentice heaved a sign and then stepped towards Cloverbreeze.

 _This reminds me of the day Icepaw disappeared…_

Sure enough, after a few quiet moments, the brown-and-white tabby she-cat glanced back towards the medicine den. "Icepaw, come here!"

A white tom sprinted out of the medicine cat den, nimbly twisted between the cats in his path, and skidded to a halt beside Cloverbreeze. "Yeah?"

Finchpaw took a moment to study Icepaw. He was tall but somewhat thin, his long tail flicking back and forth patiently. He had ice blue eyes which were probably the base of his name if he hadn't been named at birth and instead a day or two later.

"Ravenwing went out on a walk," Cloverbreeze explained. "I want you to gather herbs on the lakeshore so you can keep an eye on her."

Icepaw nodded. "Got it. Any herbs in particular?"

Thinking for a moment, the brown-and-white tabby she-cat answered, "Borage, if you see any… Tansy and dock would also be nice. I don't have any one herb in mind, just collect and make sure Ravenwing doesn't get into trouble."

The white furred apprentice nodded again before turning and bounding across camp, slipping out of the hollow and into the forest.

Finchpaw rushed to keep up with him as he swerved through the trees, admiring his speed.

 _I suppose it comes from long legs and a skinny body,_ she pondered. _Like WindClan, but Icepaw's definitely ThunderClan. He's more strongly built, I think, then any WindClan warrior I've ever seen._

Both Icepaw and Finchpaw froze as a tom's voice quietly snaked through the trees.

"We haven't seen each other in forever, Ravenwing! I missed you."

"That's not ThunderClan," Icepaw muttered, pelt bristling.

Finchpaw ruffled her pelt as well. She recognized that voice. It was Goldenbramble, meeting with his secret mate… Her great-great-grandfather meeting her great-great-grandmother.

The two apprentices hared into the trees, following the sound Goldenbramble's voice had been coming from. Finchpaw pushed herself extra hard, not wanting to lose Icepaw despite the fact that she wouldn't get lost even without the former medicine cat apprentice- this was her territory, after all.

Skidding to a halt in a grassy clearing not too far from the lake and also not far from the WindClan border, Icepaw stared at the two cats who he saw.

"Ravenwing," the medicine cat apprentice gasped. "What-what are you doing here? With a RiverClan elder, I mean!"

The two old cats shuffled closer together, Goldenbramble's eyes narrowing at the same time as Ravenwing's eyes widened. "W-well," she stuttered for a moment before her eyes blazed slightly. "He's my mate. I love him!"

Icepaw stood there for a moment in shocked silence. "But… Ravenwing, this isn't supposed to be!"

"But this has happened," Ravenwing answered. "Don't you think StarClan would have stopped us if we weren't supposed to be together?"

Silence on Icepaw's part.

"Please, don't tell the clan," the long-furred elder finished, her green eyes sparking. "Hollyheart and Goldenhawk would be devastated!"

"You mean they're your kits?" Icepaw exclaimed.

Ravenwing didn't answer, instead pressing herself into Goldenbramble's side. Her green eyes were full of some emotion that Finchpaw couldn't quite place, nor did she really try to. The ThunderClan apprentice was instead caught up with Icepaw as his facial expression changed from shock to quiet acceptance.

"That explains a lot of things," he murmured, dipping his head. "No, I won't tell Ivystar. It's not my place to disrupt the pattern of the clan. This shouldn't have happened, but it's not like I can go back in time and change what happened."

Icepaw glanced in Finchpaw's direction as he did so, making her flinch. An eerie feeling washed over her- had it been just coincidence that she had been standing here when he looked this way, or was it something more?

"How do we know we can trust you?" Goldenbramble growled, unsheathing his claws.

Finchpaw shuffled away from the RiverClan elder instinctively.

"Because I accept the fact that you two are mates," Icepaw answered, also taking a step back. "It's a mistake and it never should have happened, but I accept it."

"This isn't a mistake!" Goldenbramble hissed, stalking forwards. He repeated his previous question, sounding dangerously low. "How do we know that we can trust you?"

Icepaw fluffed up his fur and took another step backwards. "Goldenbramble, I swear on StarClan, I won't tell the Clan! I _accept_ this!"

Ravenwing's eyes widened as she watched her mate. "Goldenbramble, Goldenbramble, it's okay! I trust him! You don't have to harm him!" She sounded distressed, but she didn't move forwards to stop the golden tabby, paws rooted to the ground.

He swung his head back to stare at her. "But what if he does tell?" he asked. "What if he's lying? What if our whole lives crumble because we let him go back to your camp? Our kits, their kits, they'd know they're halfclan. Rosefern would know Goldenhawk and Hollyheart were her brothers. Their loyalty would be shaken. _Everything_ would be shaken!"

"Goldenbramble, _I_ trust him!"

A moment of silence.

"You may trust him," Goldenbramble mewed quietly. "But I don't."

Turning, he lunged for the wary Icepaw, and Finchpaw instinctively tried to pounce on the RiverClan elder to defend Icepaw but she merely fell through him and into darkness.

She landed on cold stone, just like in the first place, and her eyes shot open.

Finchpaw scrambled back to her feet. She was in the moonpool clearing again.

"And what did you see?" Cloverbreeze's voice asked smoothly.

The golden brown tabby apprentice's head whipped around to see the brown-and-white tabby medicine cat watching her with calm eyes.

"None of your business," Finchpaw answered quietly. Her mind was whirling with what she had learned from her dream.

 _Oh- and the Rosepetal cat! Could Rosefern be the cat I keep seeing?_

 _But would that mean Rosepetal and Rosefern are related? They're just alike._

 _If that was true, then Rosepetal would be related to Goldenhawk, then, right? Which would put Rosepetal as our family, and Quailflight and Robinwing are her littermates… So we'd_ all _be kin._

 _We'd all be part RiverClan._

Finchpaw's gaze landed on Cloverbreeze. What about the medicine cat? Was she related to Ravenwing?

Or Mousepaw, was he a distant cousin?

She frowned, in thought, but was torn away by Cloverbreeze as the ThunderClan medicine cat walked over and started examining her leg.

"You really shouldn't have come back," the medicine cat mewed sternly. "It is not your place to walk beside the moonpool, and especially dream there."

The brown-and-white tabby she-cat reverted to her original question. "What did you see?"

"It's none of your business," Finchpaw repeated. But… Icepaw had been Cloverbreeze's apprentice. Didn't that fact technically make what she was saying a lie? After a moment of hesitating, she added, "I-I saw Icepaw-"

"You did?" Cloverbreeze's eyes were wide and incredulous. "What did he say? I haven't seen him since before he disappeared!"

Finchpaw flinched. "I didn't _see_ him," she meowed, regretting telling the medicine cat. "I just followed him into the forest, and that's all…"

 _And I saw him be killed by my great-great-grandfather…_

She stiffened for a moment, realizing something: _I share blood with… with… a_ murderer _!_

 _But… he killed because he loved Ravenwing, right? Th-that isn't bad, is it?_

With a sinking feeling, she knew the answer.

The golden brown tabby apprentice glanced at Cloverbreeze. "Let's get back to camp," she muttered, trying to close off any more questions from Cloverbreeze.

She looked unsatisfied, but Cloverbreeze didn't protest.

Instead the medicine cat only sighed and shrugged, leading Finchpaw out of the hollow and back towards camp.

. . .

Finchpaw slipped into camp a few pawsteps ahead of Cloverbreeze and made for the medicine cat den, but not before casting a rueful glance at the fresh-kill pile- she was _starving_.

"Where do you think you're going?" Cloverbreeze asked her, sounding slightly amused.

She looked over her shoulder at the medicine cat, confused as she retorted, "I've been sleeping in the medicine cat den recently, didn't you notice?"

Rolling her eyes, Cloverbreeze nudged her towards the apprentices' den.

"You don't need to stay under my watch anymore," the brown-and-white tabby she-cat explained. "It's time you return to the apprentice den and start training again, I think."

"But you said it would be another day or two!" Finchpaw answered.

Cloverbreeze shook her head. "Yes, but being as you went to the moonpool and back without limping, I think you're good to go."

 _I didn't limp?_

Finchpaw shrugged- she wanted to get out of the medicine den, so she shouldn't be arguing against what Cloverbreeze was saying. "Great, thanks!" she purred, dipping her head towards the medicine cat before making for her own den. The apprentice wanted to get their before Cloverbreeze had a chance to change her mind and call her back.

It was nice to be inside her own den with her fellow apprentices and her own, normal, typical nest. Finchpaw collapsed inside her nest- there were a few more hours until sunrise despite having gone to the moonpool- and she wanted to spend every heartbeat of the extra time sleeping.

. . .

 _"_ _It's a mistake and it never should have happened, but I accept it."_

 _"_ _Mistakes happen, but denial and acceptance can be hard to fix and find."_

Finchpaw jerked awake, Icepaw's words echoing in her mind. She sprang to her feet and crouched, tail lashing, before realizing that not only was she awake but her dreams had been telling her the answer.

Ravenwing and Goldenbramble's relationship was a mistake.

Icepaw accepted their relationship.

But Goldenbramble couldn't accept that they could trust him.

Perhaps the young medicine cat apprentice had even denied that Goldenbramble would go so far as to harm a medicine cat.

Finchpaw bristled. She knew what the white-furred tom meant now. She knew the answer to the words that had been haunting her for the past few days. The problem was, _why_ had Icepaw even told her in the first place?

It was because of him that Finchpaw knew, well, practically everything she had learned in the past few days. Okay, so she would have gone back to the moonpool with or without him, but she wouldn't have learned and figured out so much without Icepaw murmuring in her ears about every other thing.

"Hey, you're back in the den!" came Emberpaw's familiar mew. "Welcome back!"

"Yeah, the den was really kind of empty without you and Tigerleap and Olivepetal," Midnightpaw added enthusiastically, flicking Finchpaw with her tail.

 _They didn't tell me about the warrior assessment,_ she reminded herself, feeling a prickle of sourness. _But… I'm tired of being grumpy and all. I just want to return to how things were before. I've uncovered Icepaw's secret- that's enough adventure for a whole moon._

"Hi," Finchpaw purred, stretching slightly as she glanced at her brother and her friend. "How has everyone been?"

Mousepaw let out a massive yawn from the far side of the den where his nest was located. "Pretty normal," he shrugged, closing his eyes as if remembering some nice snippet of a dream. The pale mousey brown tom sat up in his nest, tail curling around him.

"Normal?" Midnightpaw scoffed. She rolled her eyes. "Come _on_ Mousepaw!" Turning to Finchpaw, the dark blue-gray she-cat bristled, black patches melding into the rest of her pelt, and explained, "For starters, Fawnleap's kits are being apprenticed today. We've been betting over who's going to mentor whom!"

"Oh!" Finchpaw twitched her ears, eyes gleaming. "I want to bet, too."

Emberpaw waved his tail. "Be my guest- I said Ravencloud would get Jaykit, Birchkit would have Cindershade, and Frostkit would be mentored by Twigbreeze."

Mind spinning, Finchpaw stood there for a moment in silence as she considered mentors. "I think…" she began, voice trailing off uncertainly. If Cindershade, Twigbreeze, or Spottedstorm were chosen, all three would receive apprentices most likely- they were littermates, after all. But, still, they were young…

And Tigerleap and Olivepetal hadn't been warriors long enough to have apprentices, so they couldn't be chosen to be mentors of the three kits.

"Frostkit might get Oakpoppy," she mused, glancing at the other apprentices. Sagepaw, who hadn't said a word yet, sat watching her with eyes narrowed. "And Jaykit should end up with Ravencloud or Nightflower."

She still had to think of a mentor for Birchkit.

Glancing around her fellow apprentices, Finchpaw made her final decision. "I'm betting on Hollyear as Birchkit's mentor," she finished.

Midnightpaw's eyes shone. "That's what I thought!" she exclaimed. "But, I put Frostkit and Jaykit with Maplestorm and Cindershade."

Sagepaw and Mousepaw exchanged long glances, and Midnightpaw rolled her eyes. "They both agreed that Cindershade, Twigbreeze, and Spottedstorm would be mentors together, with Cindershade and Jaykit, Twigbreeze and Frostkit, and Spottedstorm and Birchkit."

"Well, it's the most possible," Mousepaw pointed out. "They haven't been mentors yet, so it's their turn."

"I think that's possible," Emberpaw acknowledged. "But I'm sticking with Ravencloud, Cindershade, and Twigbreeze."

After waiting a moment or two in silence, Finchpaw nudged her brother and looked around the circle. "So… If someone calls all the mentors correctly, what do they get?" she asked, eyes somewhat narrowed as she tried to guess what the answer would be.

"The winner gets to have each of us do their chores once whenever they'd like," Midnightpaw meowed, eyes gleaming with mischief. "But you have to use them in two moons' time, or else they expire. So basically whoever wins you want to treat really kindly so they don't make you do extra chores one day."

Finchpaw shrugged. "I'm not too worried about doing extra chores," she answered. "I just want to win, because winning is satisfying."

"But there'll be no winning if all the apprentices don't get up and train today," a different voice mewed.

The golden brown tabby she-cat spun around to see Thrushsong standing in the entrance to the den, green eyes shining with energy and amusement. His pale gray pelt was neatly groomed, the darker shades appearing to be extra dark in the parts of his coat of which the morning light didn't reach. His tail flicked side to side patiently as he waited for the apprentices to rise to their feet and join him in the hollow.

"Right, Thrushsong," Sagepaw mewed, hopping to his paws. He slipped out of the den and took up a place at his mentor's shoulder, waiting for his denmates to follow.

Midnightpaw was next, followed by Mousepaw and lastly Emberpaw and Finchpaw trotted side-by-side, blinking as they made the transition from dim light to shining daytime.

The other mentors, except for Ashbreeze who hadn't been expecting her apprentice to be back in duties again, sat behind Thrushsong talking quietly with each other. They each looked up as the apprentices emerged, blinking welcomes.

Sparrowheart, dark brown tabby fur somewhat golden in the dawn light, rose calmly to his feet. "Mousepaw, we're having a hunting assessment today," he announced. His white paws seemed to shine as he turned sharply and quickly led his apprentice out of camp.

Firespark and Voletooth shared a glance before Voletooth spoke, addressing the Emberpaw, Midnightpaw, and Finchpaw at the same time. "We were going to be having another battle session today. Finchpaw, I suppose you'll join us, but I'm afraid Ashbreeze was on the night guard so she'll be sleeping in late today."

"Great!" Midnightpaw purred, bouncing on her paws. "Finchpaw gets to train with us! It's been _forever_!"

Emberpaw nodded as well. "But no surprise attacks," he stated, looking uneasy and clearly remembering how Finchpaw had sprained her leg. She smirked as she watched her dark golden-ginger brother, realizing that he would go easy on her today, which meant that she'd have plenty of victories- the golden brown tabby apprentice wasn't afraid to fight despite her leg.

"Let's get going," Firespark announced gruffly. "I want to get back before the apprentice ceremony today."

Voletooth nodded. "Your kits will make fine warriors," he promised. Finchpaw remembered that the two senior warriors were just about the same age, and therefore they were probably good friends.

. . .

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highledge for a clan meeting!" Hazelstar yowled.

The light brown tabby leader was perched on her normal meeting spot, watching the clearing with dark blue eyes. She held herself very still, as if she was frozen in one spot, and her ears were set to the side a little bit.

Finchpaw sat next to Midnightpaw and Emberpaw like she usually did, leaning into her brother's pelt as the rest of the clan poured into the hollow and gathered.

"Today is one of the most important days of any young clan cat," Hazelstar began. "The moment where they abandon kit hood and begin their apprenticeship. Today is the day that Fawnleap and Firespark's kits cross that bridge and join their new denmates in the apprentice den."

Three kits, all thoroughly groomed, emerged from the nursery and started padding through the ThunderClan camp towards the highledge, expressions of tremendous excitement plastered upon their faces.

One, a mottled black-and-gray tom kit, darted forwards halfway and raced to the end of the path, staring up at Hazelstar with wide blue eyes.

His siblings followed more slowly, only a red tabby tom with white patches and green eyes and the other a cream-and-white she-kit with pale hazel eyes. The three littermates sat down close to each other, fur prickling in anticipation as Hazelstar leapt gracefully down the highledge and stood before them.

"Frostkit, from this day on, until you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Frostpaw," Hazelstar began, eyes trained on the cream-and-white she-kit. "Maplestorm, you are a passionate and determined cat, and I trust you will pass on all you have learned to this apprentice."

Maplestorm, a pleased-looking tortoiseshell she-cat, made her way through the crowd and touched noses with the delighted Frostpaw.

Midnightpaw was tense as she breathed into Finchpaw's ear, "That's exactly how I paired them! I'm two steps away from winning the bet!"

"Birchkit, until you earn your warrior name and during the length of your time as an apprentice, you will be called Birchpaw," ThunderClan's leader continued smoothly.

Her eyes traveled around the gathered warriors. "Hollyear, you are a kind and brave warrior of our ranks, and I can think of no better cat to teach Birchpaw in the ways of a warrior. Share with him all you know."

"I will," the scruffy furred dark brown tabby she-cat vowed, touching noses with her apprentice.

Finchpaw swelled with pride, and her friend took in a deep breath. This, too, she had called. If Jaykit's mentor was Cindershade, then Midnightpaw would have called all three mentors successfully.

"And Jaykit," Hazelstar turned to look at the mottled black-and-gray tom. "While you are an apprentice and until the day you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Jaypaw. Nightflower has shown to be fierce and responsible, and I have no doubt that she will mentor you into a fine warrior."

Jaypaw and Nightflower touched noses as well and the pair pulled over to the side of the clearing where the other newly named apprentices and their mentors sat.

"Frostpaw! Birchpaw! Jaypaw!" Finchpaw cheered, fur fluffing up.

Midnightpaw huffed in disappointed, but called out the names of the apprentices when the golden brown tabby she-cat nudged her friend harshly.

"Congratulations!" Emberpaw was purring, despite the fact that their new denmates couldn't hear them.

"Let's see what they're doing first!" Finchpaw suggested, breaking away from her friends and weaving through the clearing until she was close enough to hear the new mentors speaking to their apprentices.

Nightflower was circling around Jaypaw, pale hazel eyes narrowed slightly. "We'll start by doing the elders' ticks, and, if there's time, we'll explore the territory afterwards."

Sighing in disappointment, Jaypaw turned to his siblings and their mentors with wide, begging eyes.

"Nightflower, it's only fair that he has some fun on his first day instead of chores," Maplestorm mewed, taking pity on the apprentice. "Let him come exploring with Frostpaw and I. Besides, Hollyear is bringing Birchpaw with us, and Jaypaw will be all left out."

"Fine," Nightflower sighed, and Jaypaw let out a cheer and shuffled towards Maplestorm, blinking gratefully.

He paused and turned to look at his mentor, eyes now bright and cheerful. "Thanks, Maplestorm!"

Finchpaw frowned, looking back at Midnightpaw and Emberpaw. "They won't have nests to go to sleep with," she pointed out. "At least, they'll have to get moss from Cloverbreeze before they can go to sleep, but exploring the forest the first time is exhausting."

Emberpaw tilted his head. "And you are suggesting that we do what?"

"Make them some nests!" she exclaimed, glancing at Midnightpaw, who still seemed to be pouting about losing the bet. "Besides, if you guys help me, I'll do your chores tomorrow."

"I'm in!" Midnightpaw exclaimed, brightening. She pounded towards the entrance and disappeared out of camp, leaving Emberpaw and Finchpaw to follow rapidly so as not to lose their friend. Midnightpaw led them towards the training clearing and paused before a large oak covered in moss.

Rearing up to swipe at the moss with her forepaws, the golden brown tabby apprentice glanced at her friends. "Would you have done this without my bet?" she asked curiously.

"Maybe," Emberpaw shrugged.

"Nope!" Midnightpaw added her own answer.

Finchpaw rolled her golden eyes in exasperation. "Is it really _that_ hard to do a good thing and make some nests for the new apprentices?"

There came no response from her companions, nor did she push for one. Instead they fell into a comfortable silence, the sort of silence that happened with people whom you knew well enough and were close enough to so as to not need to talk to be together happily.

They returned back to camp soon enough and made the three new nests before collapsing into their own, tired of moss collecting and forepaws aching from swiping at trees and the ground to gather nesting material.

* * *

 **For starters, this is our longest chapter yet, with 4,130 words of actual story alongside our notes!**

 **Secondly, Finchpaw is (luckily) returning to apprentice duties and her normal personality... Icepaw's message seems to be cleared up as well, which is probably good, but the problem of Cloverbreeze's apprentice still remains...**

 **Also pointing out that we just realized we have accomplished 276 views! Thanks a ton to everyone who's read this far!**

 **~ Qashi ~**

 **\- Tsuara -**


	9. Chapter 8: Hunting

**Gahh it's been a while. There's an explanation at the end for that, though you might be able to guess. Everybody on FFN is most likely having some activity troubles thanks to starting up school again. Anyways, as our responses to reviews...**

 **For starters, thanks to FerncloudLover!**

 **Now, to Feathers, thanks again for reviewing! :D Yeah, it's nice to get out of mean Finchpaw. It was definitely getting old, and though at the beginning writing for grumpy Finchpaw was fun, but we were starting to miss the lighter version of her. Luckily, she'll be back for quite a while, if our current plot decisions stay true. We're afraid this chapter took a while, and it doesn't have too many answers, but those'll come back up soon probably. Today is more of a vacation from the action. But, the Cloverbreeze's apprentice question is definitely right around the corner, we can promise you that...**

 **Well, thanks again!**

 **And a few more viewers to highlight, thanks a ton to FerncloudLover, Invizible, and KyubiMaster9 for adding this story to their favorites, and the same three for also following this! It's really appreciated, thanks so much! :D**

 **Now... onto the long-delayed Chapter 8.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8:**

Finchpaw, Midnightpaw, and Emberpaw were crouched beside the fresh-kill pile, a squirrel between them. Emberpaw, letting out with another one of his jokes, nudged his golden brown tabby sister wide round, satisfied, yet still earnest eyes, and the warrior apprentice snorted in response.

"Come on already, Emberpaw!" Finchpaw exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Do you still really think you've got good jokes? I've told you time and time again, find something better to do!"

Her brother blinked, flicking his ears. "Then I wouldn't have the fun of annoying you consistently," he pointed out, earning a good-humored swat from Finchpaw in return.

Midnightpaw took a few rapid bites of squirrel before looking up. "Are you guys going to talk about Emberpaw's jokes all day or are you going to help me top off this squirrel? Firespark said we'd be having some 'warrior experience' thing of some sort today with the new apprentices. I don't want to be starving all day!" The black patched dark blue-gray she-cat flicked one ear towards the apprentice den.

Turning to where her friend had been inclining, Finchpaw straightened slightly as she saw Frostpaw, Jaypaw, and Birchpaw slipping uncertainly out of the apprentice den. For new apprentices who had been excited kits just yesterday were surprisingly nervous already.

"Hey, come over here!" Emberpaw called, beckoning the three apprentices with his tail. "Grab some prey and join us!"

He blinked at Finchpaw as he turned to look at her, a silent message passing between the two. _Let's make them feel welcome, and excited, and... yeah,_ Finchpaw echoed her brother's thoughts.

Frostpaw, blinking happily, led her two brothers over to the three of them and plopped down beside Midnightpaw. "Hi," she mewed shyly. "You're Midnightpaw, right?" Her pale hazel gaze turned to Emberpaw, and finally Finchpaw. "And you two are Finchpaw and... and... Timberpaw?"

Emberpaw twitched. "My name's Emberpaw," he corrected, rolling his eyes slightly in a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

Jaypaw flicked his tail, seeming just as nervous as his sister to be with older apprentices, but Birchpaw seemed excited and bold. "At last," he exclaimed after a moment, breaking the sudden silence that all apprentices sensed was coming on. "We _finally_ get to know the older apprentices! Well, you guys are only like three moons older then us, but _still_! That's a big difference."

"Yeah, I guess so!" Midnightpaw exclaimed, eyes widening. "Well, I'm three and a half moons older then you three, half a moon away from Finchpaw and Emberpaw- I'm _older_ , though, so that would enforce the point I guess!"

"You're not _that_ much older then us," Emberpaw pointed out, flicking her shoulder with his tail tip.

Shrugging, they began another lapse into silence, this one much more comfortable then the first. Finchpaw gave a quiet sigh and leaned into Emberpaw's pelt, her eyes studying the three apprentices. Frostpaw's cream-and-white pelt was neatly groomed, as if she had taken all morning looking after her pelt. Her pale hazel eyes were tired but still lit and devotedly focused. Her brothers looked less formal, with Jaypaw's mottled black-and-gray fur slightly ruffled and blue eyes round. At last, in contrast, Birchpaw's red tabby pelt with white patches was heavily spiked up and messy, his bright green eyes darting around as if was somewhat nervous but overall alright though he acted perfectly normal.

A small breeze began to sweep down into the clearing, ruffling the fur of the six apprentices as they huddled together, eating. It was as if the morning wind was whispering words to Finchpaw, whispering that she had found Icepaw's secret. That she had accomplished what he had meant for her to do.

"Well, looks like the six of you are getting acquainted." Hollyear's warm mew broke the stretching quiet. The scruffy dark brown tabby she-cat had padded up behind the group, amber eyes twinkling as she surveyed the group. When no one responded, she continued, tipping her head slightly to say, "Are you all ready for training today? Midnightpaw, Finchpaw, and Emberpaw, you'll be pairing up with the new apprentices to hunt once we give them a quick run-through on how to do so. Sound good to the six of you?"

Frostpaw leapt to her feet, nervousness gone in a fresh wave of excitement. Birchpaw was quick to follow, whiskers twitching, but Jaypaw was calmer and quieter then his littermates as he rose to his feet.

"Great!" Birchpaw purred to his mentor. "Hollyear, can I be partnered with Emberpaw?"

"I don't see why not!"

Purring in response, Hollyear led the group of apprentices over to where Nightflower and Maplestorm waited. The other two mentors dipped their heads, but instead of giving a cheerful greeting like Maplestorm, Nightflower just watched the apprentices through hard pale hazel eyes.

Finchpaw flicked her tail, a little concerned at Nightflower's coldness. Would the black she-cat be a good mentor to Jaypaw despite that fact that she didn't seem to want to warm up or get to know him? Looking at her mom, the golden brown tabby she-cat was partly proud but partly even more worried to see the same spark of concern in Hollyear's eyes.

Shaking her head, Finchpaw asked, "Can we go?"

Maplestorm nodded, eyes bright. "Yep! After all, there's no percentage in hanging about. Not when we can get things done, at least."

"Great!" Birchpaw purred, springing away from the group and pounding towards the camp entrance. His littermates followed close behind in their own separate fashions, and then Midnightpaw bounced after them, leaving Emberpaw, the three mentors, and Finchpaw to trail behind.

"Wait, where's Ashbreeze?" Finchpaw exclaimed, tilting her head. She hadn't seen her mentor all day- not that it had been very long, but wouldn't she be joining them for training?

Nightflower glanced lightly at Finchpaw. "We told Ashbreeze, Firespark, and Voletooth that they could have a day off. We're acting as your mentors for today."

"Oh, okay," she answered, slightly surprised. Finchpaw couldn't remember a day where Ashbreeze hadn't been training her, and so it made her feel partially uneasy, but Hollyear being there countered the feeling. It would be nice to train with her mom, after all.

The group hurried to catch up with the new apprentices, under a silent agreement not to let the younger cats get lost.

. . .

At the training clearing, Finchpaw, Midnightpaw, and Emberpaw stood to the side, chatting eagerly. Frostpaw, Birchpaw, and Jaypaw tussled in the middle of the hollow, play fighting and pretending that each other were mice and they were hunting. If an outsider had looked , and, upon the scene, they probably would have depicted the three new apprentices as kits, and, being as they were only apprenticed a day ago, it probably wasn't too much of a statement. But Finchpaw felt like it made all the difference in the world as she sat calmly next to her friends, eying the newer apprentices.

"Well, looks like Jaypaw will be a good fighter," she commented, watching as the mottled black and gray tom slipped under his sister to dislodge her. "That's a pretty good move for six moons old."

"He won't be as good as me!" Emberpaw purred, tail flicking.

Midnightpaw sniffed, eyes playful. "Yeah, well, you just chatter the ears off of your enemies, that's not very good fighting. I'm the best, clearly."

In all reality, Midnightpaw's statement was probably true, and not just because she was the oldest apprentice. Finchpaw's strength was more in hunting, and Emberpaw's strength was... well, Finchpaw wasn't sure if her brother even _had_ a strength, other then making noise.

She blinked warmly at her friends, before faking a pout. "What about me?"

The mentors were calling for attention to give the younger apprentices their hunting lesson, and Finchpaw flicked one ear back to listen to it.

"Oh, come on," Midnightpaw rolled her eyes. "You don't need to be the best fighter, you are definitely the best hunter out of the three of us and therefore you have enough glory as it is. Right, Emberpaw?" The black patched and dark furred blue-gray she-cat rolled her blue eyes. "But, of course, Mousepaw and Sagepaw are probably a little better then we are at hunting and fighting. But hey, they'll become in warriors in half a moon or so! At least after that I only have two moons, and then after another moon you guys can join me in the warriors' den!"

Emberpaw narrowed his eyes, acting serious for a moment. "But, if, say, there's a battle and we fight in it and we win, and Finchpaw and I do well in the battle, we could be warriors before you!"

"Nah, I'd do better then you two," the older apprentice purred, rolling her eyes good naturedly.

Golden brown tabby fur spiking playfully, Finchpaw pawed at Emberpaw. "Yeah, I bet you I'll be named a warrior and given my ceremony first!" she teased.

Her brother shuffled a pawstep away from her, tensing as if he was going to rear back and leap at her, engaging Emberpaw and Finchpaw in battle. But before he could move, Emberpaw paused and spoke instead. "I'll take you up on that, Finchpaw. What are we betting?" His eyes twinkled, as if he was confident that Emberpaw's warrior name would be announced. "What do I do if I lose, Finchpaw?"

Surprised, it took Finchpaw a moment to answer. "Uh... Why don't you go from the Great Sarcomere to camp without touching the ground, and staying as high in the trees as you can?"

Emberpaw groaned- he didn't really care for climbing, but Finchpaw's mind was set. "Then, for you..." Her brother thought for a moment, while Midnightpaw watched eagerly. "If I'm named first and you're last, then you have to go to the moonpool a second time... During our vigil. And I won't make any excuses for you, just saying. Because I have to do tree stuff."

For a moment, Finchpaw was tempted to change Emberpaw's task, but then she reminded herself that it would make her look weak.

So instead, she rose to her feet.

"Deal."

. . .

"Midnightpaw! Emberpaw! Finchpaw! We're ready for you now!" Hollyear called.

The three apprentices hopped to their feet and trotted over. Birchpaw made a point to stand beside Emberpaw, as if reminding the group that he had already claimed his partner. Frostpaw bounced over to Midnightpaw, and Jaypaw slowly joined Finchpaw, looking uneasy. The mottled black-and-gray tom, looking a lot like Midnightpaw, except a much more calmer and serious version of Finchpaw's friend, stood next to her watching his mentor with an even gaze.

"We've covered the basics with the new apprentices, and we'll be watching you all even though you won't see us," Maplestorm began to explain. "Feel free to give them tips if necessary. The goal is to catch at least one thing working together. Older apprentices, you're in charge. Got it?"

"Got it," the apprentices chorused.

Maplestorm nodded. "You already seem to be in partner groups, so, feel free to start hunting."

Finchpaw padded to the side of the training clearing, and Jaypaw followed close behind her. When she paused in the shadows to look back at him, she was surprised to see his eyes were worried. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Well, Nightflower is going to be watching us, right?" Jaypaw mumbled.

"She's your mentor, so, yes, she will be." Finchpaw narrowed her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

The new apprentice shuffled his paws. "I don't think Nightflower likes me," he confessed. "She wanted me to do the elders' ticks yesterday, but the other mentors wished their apprentices to explore the territory! And how can I be a good warrior, or at least as good a warrior as Frostpaw and Birchpaw, if Nightflower hates me?"

Feeling very quiet and unsure how to respond, Finchpaw started trotting rapidly into the trees, and Jaypaw hurried to catch up.

"Well... You never know."

A few heartbeats of awkward silence passed, and Finchpaw glanced at the younger apprentice. "Okay, so, where do you want to hunt? Do you think you'll do better in ferns or brambles? The open or tree roots? Bracken?"

Jaypaw stared at her with big blue eyes. "I don't know!" he exclaimed. "I don't know any of that!"

"Oh." Finchpaw eyed the tom. "Well, then... I think we should hunt somewhere shady, probably brambles. That'll hide you pretty well, and I'll be fairly well camouflaged, too." Being more experienced, she didn't need the handicap as much, but not only did Finchpaw not want to single the young cat out but she was reluctant to mess up in front of Jaypaw. _He'll think I'm a terrible hunter!_

Jaypaw nodded once she finished. "Okay. Uh... Do you mind showing me the hunter's crouch again, once we get there? I don't want to make a mistake, and... Well, I kind of forgot how to do it, I'm so nervous."

She nodded pleasantly. "No problem! Let's just get there, first."

Finchpaw had a place in mind, the corner of the territory right by the border with WindClan and the lake. Though the beach would be sunny, that would only mean that in the glade of birches and smaller trees there would be plenty of shade, not to mention there was a part of it with quite a few bramble bushes, near... near... Finchpaw didn't know what location to relate it to.

 _No... There is one place..._ she realized with a sinking feeling. _The place where Goldenbramble killed Icepaw. It's only a few fox-lengths away from that clearing!_

Her mind flashed back to her night at the moonpool, lacking consideration for her wish to forget the scene of the golden tabby RiverClan elder lunging forwards and killing the ThunderClan medicine cat apprentice. Ravenwing, unwilling to let him die yet unable to stop her mate. Lunging to try and stop Goldenbramble and only falling through him... Right down onto the cold, hard stone of reality. Icepaw, murdered by her great, great grandfather.

Finchpaw steered Jaypaw around the clearing and into the shady one with the brambles. "We'll be hunting here," she announced.

Jaypaw looked around. "Yeah, I bet I could hunt here... Maybe..."

"Eh, you'll be fine," she mewed, flicking him with her tail tip. Finchpaw opened her jaws to scent the air, and stiffened as she realized a mouse was nearby.

"Get in the shadows by that aspen tree," Finchpaw hissed to him.

The new apprentice stared at her. "But you haven't showed me the-"

"Get in those shadows," she hissed again. "There's a mouse. I'm going to drive it towards you. Just leap for it, catch it, and kill it, that's all you have to do. You've practiced with leaves as kits, you can do it as an apprentice. Or do you want to disappoint Nightflower?"

Jaypaw stumbled towards the bushes. "O-okay," he squeaked, sounding startled and uncertain.

Satisfied, Finchpaw circled around where she knew the mouse was and then lunged, growling to make the mouse run. She noticed it suddenly as it darted away from her, a tiny brown-gray blur heading straight for where she knew Jaypaw was hiding.

He skidded out of the shadows and jumped, landing too far ahead of the mouse. Jaypaw's forepaws hit empty ground, but as Finchpaw joined him, she realized he looked... triumphantly.

Jaypaw twisted his head to stare at his hindpaw, where, underneath, a squirming mouse was trapped. He squeezed his head forwards and gave the mouse a death bite, before stepping off of it. "I did it, Finchpaw!" he purred, picking up the mouse by its tail and showing it to her. The mottled black and gray tom set his mouse at his paws, nearly bouncing with excitement. "What should I do with it?"

"Just bury it over-"

"Take it with you," Nightflower's voice interrupted, as the black she-cat stepped out of the bushes and joined the two. Her pale hazel eyes glittered. "Good catch, Jaypaw. You'll have to learn to use your forepaws and land a lot more accurately, but for a first try, who am I to complain?" she waited a moment, before turning to Finchpaw. "You did a good job driving it to him. But we're going to be splitting now- I want to work with Jaypaw alone. Finchpaw, you can keep hunting over here. Come back to camp once you've caught something for the elders."

Finchpaw dipped her head. "Okay, Nightflower."

She watched, still feeling pleased for Jaypaw, as the two dark furred cats slipped into the bushes.

* * *

 **ALLEGIANCES**

* * *

 **-ThunderClan:**

 **Leader:** Hazelstar (pale brown tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes)

 **Deputy:** Birdflight (tortoiseshell she-cat with white paws and green eyes)

 **Medicine Cat:** Cloverbreeze (brown-and-white tabby she-cat with amber eyes)

 **Warriors:**

Sparrowheart (dark brown tabby tom with white paws and fiery amber eyes)

Thrushsong (pale gray tom with darker shades and green eyes)

Vixenheart (bright ginger she-cat with dark ginger ears and hazel eyes)

Owlclaw (brown tabby tom with yellow eyes)

Voletooth (dark brown tom with dark amber eyes)

Firespark (russet tom with white chest and paws, green eyes)

Ashbreeze (pale gray tabby she-cat with darker speckles and blue eyes)

Fawnleap (golden-brown she-cat with red patches and hazel eyes)

Maplestorm (tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes)

Oakpoppy (brown-and-white tom with hazel eyes)

Hollyear (scruffy-furred dark brown tabby she-cat with dark amber eyes)

Nightflower (black she-cat with pale hazel eyes)

Ravencloud (black tom with amber eyes)

Cindershade (silver tabby she-cat with hazel eyes)

Twigbreeze (dusky brown tabby she-cat with green eyes)

Spottedstorm (spotted brown tabby tom with amber eyes)

Olivepetal (tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes)

Tigerleap (brown tabby tom with hazel eyes)

 **Apprentices:**

Mousepaw (pale mousey brown tom with bright amber eyes) Mentor: Sparrowheart

Sagepaw (gray-and-white tom with green eyes) Mentor: Thrushsong

Midnightpaw (dark blue-gray she-cat with black patches and blue eyes) Mentor: Firespark

Finchpaw (golden brown tabby she-cat with golden eyes) Mentor: Ashbreeze

Emberpaw (dark golden-ginger tom with dark reddish amber eyes) Mentor: Voletooth

Frostpaw (cream-and-white she-cat with pale hazel eyes) Mentor: Maplestorm

Jaypaw (mottled black-and-grey tom with blue eyes) Mentor: Nightflower

Birchpaw (red tabby tom with white patches and green eyes) Mentor: Hollyear

 **Elders:**

Quailflight (gray tabby she-cat with green eyes)

Rosepetal (reddish-ginger she-cat with amber eyes)

Robinwing (red-and-white tom with yellow eyes)

* * *

 **-ShadowClan:**

 **Leader:** Flintstar (pale gray-and-white patched tabby she-cat with hazel eyes)

 **Deputy:** Scorchfrost (dark colored ginger-and-gray tabby tom with fierce green eyes)

 **Medicine Cat:** Wolfclaw (shaggy gray tom with blue eyes, formerly a warrior)

* * *

 **-RiverClan**

 **Leader:** Acornstar (pale ginger-and-white mottled she-cat with amber eyes)

 **Deputy:** Rainwing (pretty silver tabby she-cat with soft blue eyes)

 **Medicine Cat:** Poolsplash (gray tom with white paws and paler speckles, green eyes)

* * *

 **-WindClan**

 **Leader:** Yellowstar (mottled yellow she-cat with hazel eyes)

 **Deputy:** Runningcreek (pale brown tabby tom with yellow eyes)

 **Medicine Cat:** Moleshade (dark brown tom with dark amber eyes)

* * *

 **Well, we're really sorry! This chapter took so long! But with school starting, Tsuara and I were swept off our feet. We've been having trouble being able to set aside time where we can both work on this together. But, hopefully, we'll be able to get our act together soon. Also, we have an allegiances update (more for us so we can remember the new mentors for the apprentices, but still.)**

 **As reflections on the chapter, this wasn't a very event-heavy chapter. A little hunting, a teensy bit of thought about Icepaw, but overall kind of plain. This is because it's been kind of action packed lately, and there's a fairly big event coming up, so we wanted to give a quick break from the action. Also, this works as a set up for what we have planned, in some ways.**

 **Well, thanks a ton for reading, (and reviewing, if you did!)**

 **~Qashi~**

 **-Tsuara-**


	10. Chapter 9: Cloverbreeze's Apprentice

***Cheers* Look, we're back again! And also, this new chapter is longer then the last one, which used to be the longest chapter, by over 1,000 words! :D This one is 4,765 words, and that's just the chapter bit. With the author's note it is 5,011 words!**

 **Anyways, hi to Feather! Yeah, this is weird, we have a Feathers reviewer and possibly now a Feather reviewer. O.o Since I/we (Hey, Tsuara doesn't really participate in writing the author notes and review replies, it's kind of just me here [Qashi]) know you also go by Rain and Hazel (though I guess Hazel's reserved for Moon) so I'll just call you Rain here. So basically thanks for the reviews! And for favoriting it! We'll be learning more about Icepaw soon.**

 **And, strangely, we haven't heard from Feathers since two chapters ago/Chapter 7 of the book, so, Feathers, we hope you're okay!**

 **Now onto the chapter ~**

* * *

 **Chapter 9:**

Finchpaw turned away from the quivering bushes and focused her concentration on hunting now. She opened her jaws to sniff the air, golden brown tabby fur bristling slightly. The apprentice tensed, detecting squirrel tracks, and followed the smell to a tiny squirrel print in some fresh earth. Finchpaw pressed her nose to the ground and started to trace the tracks, delighted as she was able to safely deduct that they were fairly fresh.

Leading her a few fox-lengths away from the clearing into another small clearing, Finchpaw stiffened as she heard rustling. The squirrel sat at the roots of a maple tree, foraging through the leaves, its back to Finchpaw.

If she stalked up and then leapt, it would be practically a certain catch.

Dropping into her best hunter's crouch, Finchpaw slid across the clearly like a snake, silent and deadly. She paused a fox-length or so behind the squirrel and bunched her muscles, eyes fixed on the ginger shape and bushy tail of her quarry. Eyes narrowed, claws unsheathed, the golden brown tabby apprentice leapt and landing, neatly, on the unsuspecting prey.

Snapping its neck with a quick bite, Finchpaw picked up her catch and surveyed the clearing for a good place to bury it.

The squirrel dropped to the ground as she realized exactly what clearing she had wandered into.

Icepaw's clearing.

With dread, her golden gaze dropped down to her paws and where she was standing, in a haunting familiar spot that had turned to cold stone, just as she would have landed to save the white tom from her kin.

In her mind, Finchpaw could see Icepaw's limp body at her feet, and she shuffled backwards. She hadn't intended to end up here! This was where Goldenbramble had killed Icepaw, despite the fact that he had accepted the cross Clan relationship. Even though Ravenwing had trusted him. And now she was Goldenbramble's great, great grandkit. She shared blood with him.

 _Does that mean my family are murderers?_ she wondered incredulously, taking another step back.

Finchpaw shook her head vigorously. _No, Goldenbramble was RiverClan. That's a RiverClan thing, maybe?_

 _But... I'm part RiverClan!_

The golden brown tabby she-cat flattened her ears, forcing herself to raise her eyes to stare at where Icepaw last stood.

"He didn't trust you, Icepaw, but I would have," Finchpaw promised to the empty air. "I trust you. You didn't have to die. Goldenbramble didn't have to kill you. It's just... Well, we're ThunderClan and he's RiverClan. Maybe it should stay that way. I'm sorry."

What happened next, Finchpaw didn't expect at all.

"StarClan said I'd be free soon. They were right."

Icepaw's voice mewed, a mixture of emotions, more real and alive then ever before. And as Finchpaw turned around, startled, fur bristling, she came face to face with a ragged white tom crawling out of a hole in the ground, one that had been hidden in the shadows for all the time before. Cloverbreeze's apprentice himself, as vivid as the trees and plants around her. Real.

"Wh-who are you?" Finchpaw exclaimed, though she already knew the answer. "What are you doing here?"

"Did you see me die?"

"I saw you tackled! Goldenbramble killed you!"

"He tried to. But he didn't kill me instantly. I crawled into this tunnel to heal myself, and I've been here ever since." Icepaw raised his jaws to reveal a scar tracing down his throat. "I tried to leave the tunnels after a few seasons, in hopes that Goldenbramble was dead so I'd be safe, but..." he trailed away, as if there was something more to say but Icepaw was unwilling to reveal it. "Cats who find their way into the tunnels seem to always have something holding them back from letting them back out. The tunnels... ask something of you."

Finchpaw didn't stop to ponder Icepaw's words. "But how did you survive? Catch food?"

The white-furred tom shook his head.

"I have my ways."

There was rustling in the bushes, and Finchpaw spun to see Ashbreeze's pale gray tabby former, decorated with darker speckles, slid into the clearing. "Finchpaw, you've been taking a while, so- Who's that?"

Ashbreeze dropped into a crouch, blue eyes narrowed and tail lashing.

"This is Icepaw," Finchpaw explained, tensing instinctively. "He," _What am I supposed to say? That a dead cat who disappeared seasons ago is, somehow, alive and well?_ "Uh, well, he survived."

"Icepaw wasn't killed," Ashbreeze mewed, stalking closer to the white tom. "He disappeared. Maybe he died from a fox, maybe not. But according to Clan knowledge, he wasn't necessarily killed. And so until we have a little more background information, Finchpaw, you need to be more cautious. You can't start up petty chitchat with tom who could threaten our clan."

The tom in question bristled slightly. "Finchpaw, right? Is that _Ashkit_? What's her warrior name now? I-I'm guessing she's your mentor."

"My name is Ash _breeze,_ thank you very much," Ashbreeze corrected him sharply, though there was hesitation and though in her gaze, as if she was starting to trust Finchpaw's perspective of the scene. "How did you know my name?"

Icepaw flicked his tail. "And how's Cloverbreeze? Does she have a new apprentice, now, or..." his voice trailed away, and he shook his head. The white tom waited a moment before continuing. "Is Ivystar doing well? Oh, and what about Cloudpaw? What's his warrior name? Is he a senior warrior? Deputy? I always told Cloudpaw he'd be leader someday."

Ashbreeze's expression had changed to shock.

"It's really Icepaw," she breathed. Her gaze was calm but startled, all at the same time, and Finchpaw watched her warily. "Cloverbreeze is fine. Hazelfeather is leader now. Cloudpaw is... He died from greencough a few seasons after you disappeared. Ivystar said she would have named him Cloudheart, though..."

The golden brown tabby she-cat shot uncertain glances at her mentor and the former medicine cat apprentice.

"Uh," she mumbled, feeling a little awkward. "Should we go back to camp?"

Ashbreeze straightened, snapping her gaze back to fix it on Finchpaw. "Right," she answered, nodding. "Let's take Icepaw back to camp. Hazelstar will want to speak with him, I imagine, and then perhaps you'll be able to come back. Err..." Her blue eyes hardened again. "Icepaw, why did you disappear?"

Finchpaw gulped and looked from Icepaw to Ashbreeze.

 _I really don't think you should tell her about... uh... Goldenbramble,_ she tried to tell Icepaw through the silence. _I... don't think I_ want _you to tell her, either..._

"A fox attacked me," Icepaw mewed after a moment, eyes flashing. "It knocked me unconscious and I fell in the stream. When I woke up, I was far, far away... Irested and recovered but by the time I found the Clan again," he answered, before his voice trailed away. Finchpaw felt panic weigh in her belly. Had he run out of words?

"Everyone had gone on and all without him," Finchpaw butted in. "So he lived outside the territory. He came in chasing after a squirrel, and we ended up going after the same squirrel, and-"

Ashbreeze sighed. "And then the two of you ran right into each other."

Finchpaw nodded, feeling guilty about lying to her mentor but feeling a need to cover up the truth.

"Let's get back to camp then."

. . .

When they got back to the ThunderClan camp, the elders and the senior warriors stared with a hopeful astonishment at the sleek white form accompanying Finchpaw and Ashbreeze. Hazelstar bounded down the tumbled rocks and stopped shortly in front of the three cats, her dark blue eyes round with surprise. She gave a slight dip of her head to Ashbreeze. "That looks like... Well, Icepaw."

Icepaw grimaced and dipped his head in respect to Hazelstar. "Ashbreeze told me you are ThunderClan's leader now."

"Yes," Hazelstar answered simply.

A few moments of silence passed, and Hazelstar's gaze landed on Finchpaw. "Find Cloverbreeze. She went out to gather herbs, but I think she'd like to see Icepaw." Her eyes were flashing with memories, probably back from times when Icepaw had walked among ThunderClan as a young cat. Now the white tom was full grown, ten or so moons older then Ashbreeze.

Finchpaw dipped her head, though her paws itched to stay here and see how the Clan reacted to Icepaw's return. But an order was an order, and she turned and slipped back out of camp.

She opened her jaws to taste the air, picking up Cloverbreeze's smell amongst the distinct swathe of scents and following it through a trail between the trees. It led down towards the lake, about halfway across the territory in from the WindClan border.

Skidding to a trot as she emerged onto the lakeshore, Finchpaw looked down the long line of sand and pebbles.

"Cloverbreeze!" she called.

The brown-and-white tabby medicine cat was gathering something at the base of a beech tree. She looked up when Finchpaw yowled, amber eyes becoming round with concern. "Is everything okay?" she answered, picking up her bundles and padding over to stand in front off the apprentice.

"Yeah," Finchpaw mewed, mind whirling. _How do I tell her? Best be straight forward, I guess._ "Guess who's at camp?"

Cloverbreeze frowned. "Is one of the other medicine cats visiting? Did the rabbits attack his marigold plants again?"

"No," she answered. "It's Icepaw!"

The medicine cat stared at her in astonishment for a few long moments.

Then, she managed to say, "As in, not a RiverClan apprentice, but as in a white-furred ThunderClan medicine cat apprentice?"

When Finchpaw gave a small nod, the brown-and-white tabby she-cat rushed past her and bounded towards the ThunderClan camp.

Finchpaw spun around and ran after her, keeping pace with the shocked Cloverbreeze as she skidded into camp and stared at Icepaw as he emerged from the leader's den with Hazelstar and Birdflight beside him.

"Icepaw!"

The white tom straightened at his name, and his gaze swiveled to land on his old mentor.

"Cloverbreeze!" He bounded down the rocks and touched noses with her. "Are you alright?"

The medicine cat let out a fierce purr. "I'm fine," she told Icepaw. "I missed you, though. Why did you disappear? What happened? Did one of us do something to you? Did you need a break?" Cloverbreeze looked ready to burst with all her questions, but after a few heartbeats the brown-and-white tabby she-cat composed herself and closed her amber eyes for a long moment. "How are _you_?"

"Fine, like you," Icepaw answered. "Uh... Do you mind if I get something to eat?"

"Of course not," Cloverbreezee purred in response. The old medicine cat was clearly delighted to have her apprentice back again.

The two trotted over to the fresh-kill pile, talking as they picked out a squirrel and crouched to eat.

Hazelstar, who was still standing on the highledge, let out a loud yowl. "May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the highledge for a clan meeting!"

It seemed like most of the Clan was already gathered, but a few more cats slipped out from their dens to join the majority. Cloverbreeze and Icepaw turned from where they were eating to watch, and Emberpaw weaved through the crowd to sit beside Finchpaw.

She leaned into his pelt for a moment in a silent greeting before pricking her ears and straightening, a little curious to hear what Hazelstar's announcement would be. The golden brown tabby she-cat knew it would probably be something about Icepaw, just not exactly what.

"ThunderClan," Hazelstar began. "As most of you have probably heard, Cloverbreeze's old apprentice was found today by the WindClan border. All those seasons ago, a fox attacked Icepaw and knocked him into the stream. He was swept far away, and a few seasons ago finally made his way back to ThunderClan. He didn't feel he could come back after so long so he stayed outside the border. Icepaw was hunting when he ran into Finchpaw," Hazelstar's eyes landed on her, and she tensed," and Finchpaw and Ashbreeze have brought him here. Icepaw has requested to resume his old position as medicine cat apprentice, and, with Cloverbreeze's approval, Birdflight and I have decided to let that happen."

Heads swung around to focus on Cloverbreeze and Icepaw.

The medicine cat gave a nod. "Of course," she mewed. "Icepaw will always be welcome here." Her amber eyes sparkled, and landed on Finchpaw. She seemed to be saying, _'I guess you aren't the one StarClan said was my apprentice.'_

Finchpaw turned her attention back to Hazelstar, tail twitching. _Yeah, Cloverbreeze. Thankfully, I'm not that cat._

"The second thing I have to say," the ThunderClan leader continued. "Is the list of cats attending the Gathering tonight."

Immediately pricking, Finchpaw watched Hazelstar eagerly. _Please let me go to the Gathering!_

"Aside from Birdflight, Cloverbreeze, and myself, Sparrowheart, Owlclaw, Fawnleap, Ashbreeze, Maplestorm, Hollyear, Nightflower, Olivepetal, Tigerleap, Mousepaw, Finchpaw, Jaypaw, Birchpaw, and Frostpaw will be attending," Hazelstar announced.

Finchpaw purred in delight. _Yes!_

Emberpaw poked her side with his paw. "Promise you'll tell me all about it when you get back?" he asked, dark reddish-amber eyes flashing. The dark golden-ginger tom's tail was flicking, and Finchpaw felt guilty for not thinking about him when she had been so triumphant. She poked him back and nodded, one eye checking the sun's position in the sky to check time. It was sometime in the afternoon, so she'd have a few hours before the Gathering patrol left.

The golden-brown tabby she-cat hopped to her feet as the Clan scattered, the meeting over, and reared up onto her hind legs. Peering over the heads of all the over ThunderClan cats, Finchpaw's eyes landed on Midnightpaw's sturdy form and she dropped back down and led Emberpaw over to her friend.

"Come on, wanna chat?" she asked, tail flicking.

"Of course!" Midnightpaw's eyes sparkled and she sat down where she was. "Hey, did you hear the rumor that Fawnleap's going to be moving into the nursery soon?"

Finchpaw blinked, surprised. "No, is it true?"

"I think so," Midnightpaw shrugged in response. She glanced at Emberpaw. "What do you think is going to happen at the Gathering tonight?"

Emberpaw tipped his head. "I don't think that much is going to happen," he admitted. "I mean, we'll be announcing Tigerleap and Olivepetal's warrior ceremony, and the apprentices, but nothing really happened... Oh, besides Icepaw returning." In very unusual sort of quiet way for Emberpaw, he looked down at his paws and studied him. "Do you think Hazelstar will announce Icepaw's return?"

There was silence as the three apprentices considered it for a moment.

"Maybe," Finchpaw ventured. "Why do you ask?"

"Well..." Emberpaw looked up again, eyes round. "Something seems off about him. Why not come back to the Clan, even if we all seem to have forgotten about him, or something like that? Why not?"

Stiffening, Finchpaw closed her eyes.

"Maybe he didn't think he'd be welcome?" she suggested after a moment.

 _I know the real reason... And I don't want to share it, not with you, not with anyone, Emberpaw._

Emberpaw flicked one ear.

"Maybe."

. . .

As the ThunderClan Gathering patrol climbed across the fallen tree and took their place on the island, Finchpaw made her way away from her Clan and towards an empty spot by some ferns.

She heard chattering nearby and turned her head to see four apprentices from the other clans talking happily, with an occasional laugh. They were padding towards her spot in the ferns, probably thinking it was an empty place to sit together, and so Finchpaw scooted to the side, not wanting to leave her spot but unsure how to join their conversation.

They spotted her as they came close, and the first one, a black she-cat with paler flecks, widened her dark blue eyes.

"Oh, sorry!" she exclaimed. "We didn't see you there. I'm Silverpaw of RiverClan, and this is Dewpaw, my Clanmate." She nodded to a gray-and-white tom.

"I'm Dawnpaw," added a golden tabby she-cat. "From WindClan, and the furball over there is Toadpaw of ShadowClan."

The dark gray tabby tom nodded and gave a small meow of greeting. "Hey."

Finchpaw flicked her tail. "Hi. Uh, I'm Finchpaw, from ThunderClan as you probably guessed."

 _I wonder who Silverpaw and Dewpaw's great, great grandparents are... We could,_ _technically, be related after all..._

Silverpaw flashed a smile and sat down next to Finchpaw, and Dewpaw joined her with a nod. "Can we sit here?" he asked, green eyes surveying the rest of the island. "It looks pretty noisy and crowded out there, so..."

"Sure, why not?" Finchpaw answered, relieved that these other apprentices seemed to be friendly. "So, uh, what are you guys talking about?"

"Stuff," Dawnpaw shrugged, sitting with Toadpaw across from them. She waited for a moment in silence before pricking. "Oh! Did I tell you about how Hollowfoot got stuck in some brambles? It was hilarious- she got _so stuck_! But now she's mad at me for being too busy laughing to help her when it happened..." Dawnpaw gave a mischievous smile. "I tease her about getting stuck in return."

The apprentices laughed, and Finchpaw did, too. "Who's Hollowfoot?" she asked.

"My older sister," Dawnpaw groaned. "I'm the second litter. Hollowfoot and Stoneclaw are my older sister and brother, and Wrenpaw's my real sister. But she couldn't attend the Gathering today, because she caught a cold."

"Too bad," Silverpaw sympathized. "I guess it is coming into leaffall... But you'd think it's a little early to get sick."

The golden tabby apprentice twitched her ear. "No, it's _always_ time for Wrenpaw to get sick. She's just, like, prone to catching colds."

Toadpaw pawed at the ground. "Geez, good thing to know I'm not the only one."

"Eww!" Dawnpaw squealed, scooting away from him. "You're good now, right?"

"Yeah, it was just a joke." Toadpaw grinned.

Silverpaw gave an amused purr and turned to Finchpaw. "So, do you have any stories to share?"

 _I guess... Well, yeah, I_ do _have stories._

"My brother sprained my leg in a surprise training session," Finchpaw offered. "And... Well, I was dared to go to the moonpool, and I dreamed there this moon- twice. Also, our old medicine cat apprentice came back, because-" She shut her jaws. _No, let's not go there._

Dewpaw widened his eyes. "Wait, you went to the _moonpool_?"

" _Twice?_ _"_ Dawnpaw echoed.

Shuffling her paws, Finchpaw gave a small nod. "Yeah. I dreamed of a cat who looked like a ThunderClan elder, and some other cats. It wasn't much. They didn't speak to me, not really."

"Still," Silverpaw mewed. "That is _pretty big_. You aren't a medicine cat apprentice, right?"

"No, and I'm never going to be!" Finchpaw bristled. "Cloverbreeze was wanting to be her apprentice thanks to a stupid prophecy, but then Icepaw returned, so it's all good. So I'm really, really lucky." She scrunched up her nose. "I'd hate to be a medicine cat!"

"Same," Toadpaw agreed. "I don't like herbs, or learning to heal, or all that jazz."

There was a yowl from Acornstar of RiverClan and the apprentices shushed themselves reluctantly and turned to face the Great Tree. The four leaders were perched on the branches, watching the gathered Clans. Hazelstar was perched on a higher branch, right near the tip of the limb. Flintstar of ShadowClan sat a few feet below, hugging the trunk, and Acornstar and Yellowstar were on the lowest branches, crouched with a dignified air about them.

"Let the Gathering commence!" Acornstar yowled, and the clearing was put into silence. "Flintstar, would you like to go first?"

"Thank you," the pale gray-and-white tabby she-cat mewed steely. She rose to her feet, standing tall and proud, and swept her pale hazel gaze over the crowd of warriors. "ShadowClan has been well this past moon. A tree fell near our border with the wild forests, and luckily no cat was hurt. Ivystem has moved into the nursery expecting kits and Thorntail has been made a warrior. ShadowClan is strong."

"Thorntail!" The gathered cats cheered warmly for the new warrior, though some looked disgruntled at how Flintstar had finished her report.

As the cats quieted, Yellowstar rose to her feet. The mottled yellow she-cat blinked her hazel eyes slowly, as if deciding what to say. "A WindClan patrol encountered two foxes this moon and Breezeflight was injured, but a patrol led by Runningcreek soon sent them running away." She glanced at Hazelstar. "This happened about five or so days ago. Our patrols think the foxes were headed for your territory, Hazelstar. Keep an eye out."

Hazelstar nodded. "Thank you for the warning, Yellowstar."

The two leaders held contact for a moment before Yellowstar jerked her gaze away and continued. "Other then that, WindClan, too, is ready for leaffall. The rabbits are plentiful and we welcome two new apprentices to this Gathering. Petalpaw and Chivepaw are the newest apprentices of WindClan, and Molefoot has moved into the elder's den."

"Petalpaw! Chivepaw!" The Clans called. Some cats yowled Molefoot's name, too, but most attention was focused on the apprentices. Finchpaw thought she saw the old tom, a mottled brown cat, snort in exasperation and she gave his name a few loud hoots.

Attention turned to Hazelstar, and the pale brown tabby she-cat rose to her feet. The branch shook under her feet but she didn't seem to notice.

"ThunderClan does not have too much to report," she mewed. "All has been well. We have two new warriors, Tigerleap and Olivepetal, and three new apprentices, named Frostpaw, Birchpaw, and Jaypaw. Lastly, ThunderClan's old medicine cat apprentice, Icepaw, has returned and ThunderClan welcomes him back warmly."

The cheers were yowled, but some cats whispered amongst themselves. The elders and older warriors looked surprised, and muttered amongst themselves.

"Where was he?" called a RiverClan warrior.

Finchpaw thought his name was Troutclaw, but she wasn't certain.

Birdflight rose from her spot perched at the roots of the Great Tree and gave Troutclaw an even stare. "That information is not important. Foxes are always a danger however, especially for cats trained in healing instead of fighting."

Troutclaw flicked one ear and growled before sitting down.

Before more cats could all out, Acornstar let out a yowl to capture everyone's attention again.

"It is time for RiverClan's report," she announced. Her gaze fixed on her deputy, Rainsong. "Our Clan is growing with two new litters of kits. Goldenwing has had two sons and a daughter, named Graykit, Flashkit, and Poolkit, and Featherfrost is mother to Frostkit and Reedkit. Rainsong will be moving into the nursery soon as well. RiverClan is blessed with the birth of our five new kits, and the fish run well in the rivers and lakes this season. This Gathering is over."

The cats turned and starting talking to each other, grooming with old friends or making new ones.

Finchpaw glanced at the other four apprentices expectantly, waiting for one of them to pick up a conversation.

"Let's have a contest!" Silverpaw purred. She flicked Finchpaw's shoulder with her tail. "Whoever can jump the highest wins!"

The apprentices mewed agreement, and Silverpaw let out a grin. "Okay, that's settled. But who's going to be the judge?"

Dewpaw twitched on ear. "I'll do it," he volunteered. "I'm not that great a jumper, and then that means there's one contestant from each Clan. Now, everyone should jump when I count down from three and land on one. Sound good?"

"Great," Dawnpaw answered, excited.

The four apprentices pressed themselves to the ground, muscles tense as the prepared themselves to make their best jump. Finchpaw, remembering the hunter's crouch, tucked her legs neatly under her body and bunched them, eyes trained on a branch of a nearby tree, several fox-lengths above her head.

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One!"

She sprung into the air, arcing one forepaw up and tail pointing straight under her, as if Finchpaw had rocketed straight into the air. Finchpaw landed quietly and crouched, panting for a moment at the sudden exertion.

"Who won?" Toadpaw grumbled, shaking one forepaw. "It wasn't me, I'm the worst jumper _ever_."

Dewpaw narrowed his eyes, studying the four apprentices. "I think it was a tie, between Silverpaw and Finchpaw. Dawnpaw, you were pretty close. Toadpaw..." his voice trailed away, and the apprentices laughed in a cheerful manner.

"Maybe next time," Finchpaw told the ShadowClan apprentice, flicking him with her tail.

"Finchpaw!" Hollyear called. "It's time to go!"

Silverpaw glanced at Finchpaw's mother quizzically. "Who's she?"

"My mother, Hollyear," she answered, nodding to Hollyear to say she'd be there in a moment.

The RiverClan apprentice squinted at Hollyear. "Cool! She looks kind of like my grandmother, Minnowheart."

"My great grandmother was Hollyheart," Finchpaw offered. "And my grandmother was Ferntail."

Silverpaw twitched her whiskers. "That's a coincidence!" she purred. "My great grandmother was Rose _fern_!" The silver-furred RiverClan apprentice weaved around Finchpaw, eyes amused. "Well, I never thought I'd be learning a ThunderClan family tree today," she added, eying Finchpaw. "Do you think you'll be here at the next Gathering? We can talk again, you're fun! Also, we can finish up that jumping contest."

But Finchpaw wasn't listening anymore.

Her head was spinning.

 _Rosefern..._ Rose _fern. Rosekit? As in, Goldenbramble and Ravenwing's daughter, the one they brought to live in RiverClan?_

"Finchpaw?" Silverpaw stared at her, concerned.

She shook her head. "Silverpaw, I think I've heard of Rosefern." Finchpaw did her best to choose her words carefully. "Wasn't she an abandoned rogue kit that some warrior- I think it was it Goldensomething- found and brought to camp?"

"Yeah," Silverpaw mewed, confused. "Where'd you hear that from?"

 _Silverpaw's my relative!_

Finchpaw forced herself to stay calm and steady, calm and steady. "One of the elders. You know, since Hollyheart and her brother, Goldenhawk, had the same sort of backstory and were found the same moon, so the elders sometimes tell about Rosefern too, in ThunderClan at least."

"Finchpaw!" It was Hollyear again, sounding impatient. Ashbreeze was next to her this time. "Hurry up!"

"Coming!" Finchpaw yowled. She blinked apologetically at Silverpaw and mewed the apprentices a quick goodbye before bounding over to her mother and her mentor. "Sorry," she panted, dipping her head. "We were talking, and I made some new friends, and we were wrapping something up."

Hollyear gave her an affection lick on the forehead and the three started trotting towards the treebridge where ThunderClan was just starting to cross. "What did you and your friends do today?" she asked.

"We had a jumping contest," Finchpaw answered. "Silverpaw and I tied! Silverpaw's from RiverClan."

Her mother gave an amused purr and flicked Finchpaw with her tail. "Good job. You're a true tree climber them. I'm surprised ShadowClan didn't do better, though. Was there a ShadowClan apprentice with you? The dark gray tabby tom looked like one of the ShadowClan sort." The dark brown tabby she-cat ruffled her scruffy fur thoughtfully, eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, he's Toadpaw," Finchpaw answered.

She leapt up onto the treebridge and crossed confidently, Ashbreeze and Hollyear following. As they began the trek back to ThunderClan territory, Ashbreeze and Hollyear dropped back to talk and Finchpaw bounded up to walk alongside the other apprentices.

Her mind still echoed with what she had learned.

 _Silverpaw is related to me. Silverpaw is my kin._

A fact that hadn't quite come to surface as such a big reality gave her a thorough smack in the face.

 _I'm part RiverClan. Emberpaw, Hollyear, and myself, we all have RiverClan running in our veins._

 _I'm not a true ThunderClan cat. Not completely._

* * *

 **Hope that chapter was good! We have two big elements to this chapter, finding Icepaw and learning about the Silverpaw/Finchpaw connection. There's not much to say in review today, so we'll have a short note here.**

 **Basically, thanks a ton if you read this far, and please feel free to review! It's always one of the greatest motivations and gives us good feedback to improve on or think over.**

 **Bye~**

 **-Tsuara- and ~Qashi~**


	11. Chapter 10: Battle

**Ahhh we are so, so, so sorry for not updating in literally months! Thanksgiving Break and Winter Break meant we had no study hall time, which was when I/Qashi normally would type up our ideas, and we had family visiting for Thanksgiving through yesterday, actually. So today we managed to be in a room together and we just focused and we just wrote this up.**

 **Anyways, welcome to the delayed but finally here Chapter 10!**

 **Don't worry, in the end Everything Will Be Alright, we'll get chapters up sooner.**

 **...If you enjoyed the terrible pun, leave a review...?**

* * *

 **Chapter 10:**

Finchpaw yawned and stretched, blinking open her golden eyes to the faint cracks of light that slid through the entrance of the apprentice den. Leaf-fall was coming on, yet though the temperatures were dropping the sun still seemed to be going at full-power. It cut off on her paws, highlighting the small golden brown tabby stripes that lingered on her feet that even Finchpaw herself rarely noticed.

"Emberpaw?" she mumbled, twisting her head to look at her brother's nest.

The dark golden-ginger tom groaned and slid one eye open a tad. "What is it, Finchpaw? I'm _tired_!"

"You didn't even go to the Gathering last night!" Finchpaw exclaimed, straightening. She prodded her brother's shoulder, which, in turn, seemed to Emberpaw's trademark move, and he poked her back.

"What was that for?" he complained. "I'm _genuinely_ tired this time!"

Finchpaw snorted, but moved back into her nest to groom her fur. "'This time?' So all the other times you say you're tired, like after a day of battle training, is fake?"

Emberpaw leapt to his paws and shook out his pelt in response. "Whatever. What are we doing today?"

"No idea," she shrugged. "You'd have to ask Voletooth to find out."

There was a groan as Midnightpaw raised her head from her nest. "Would you guys shut up?" A moment passed, however, as Midnightpaw blinked rapidly and jumped to her feet. "Great StarClan, is it dawn already? I've got just enough time to eat some food before Firespark will want me!"

Laughing, Finchpaw fixed her best pretend stern gaze on Emberpaw. "And so would you like to tell me exactly what you should be doing as well, on the precipice that Voletooth and Ashbreeze will be here any moment now to take us training?"

"I'm going to guess getting up, grooming my fur, and eating," he answered, rolling onto his back so his underfur was visible. Emberpaw let out big, loose yawn, his eyes trained on Finchpaw as she gave an exaggerated nod. " _However_ ," he continued. "Being as that I'm _tired_ and _sleepy_ , and based on the precipice that Voletooth wouldn't like me sleeping during training, he would _clearly_ prefer for me to sleep in. As the dutiful apprentice I am, it is my job to go back to sleep!"

Mousepaw, from the far side of the den, raised his head sleepily. "Good evening, Emberpaw," he mewed, rolling his eyes.

"Do you really want Voletooth to catch you sleeping in?" Sagepaw added, getting to his feet and shaking scraps of moss out of his fur.

Finchpaw couldn't help but give a small purr at the sight of the apprentices, her friends, all having a little fun together with Emberpaw as he lazed away. She wondered for a slight moment if the new apprentices would become a part of their group or if they would be in a different friend circle- Frostpaw, Birchpaw, and Jaypaw did, for instance, have their nests in a circle in their own side of the den. It _was_ possible.

"Maybe not," Emberpaw shrugged, rolling back onto his stomach and getting into a sitting position. "But I'm willing to risk it to catch a few winks."

Nevertheless, he bent his head and started grooming his fur, Emberpaw's pink tongue removing the mossy green scraps that clung to his fur. Finchpaw, too, buried her head in her fur, smoothing the ruffles and teasing the tangles. Sagepaw, giving a purr of amusement, gently flicked a little bit of moss material off Finchpaw's shoulder for her before investing in his own pelt, and Midnightpaw mewed a cheerful goodbye before leading herself and Mousepaw out of the den to grab a bite of breakfast.

It was amazing how quick the apprentice den could come alive.

Frostpaw yawned from her nest and raised her head, sleep-crusted pale hazel eyes slowly focusing on the group. "Is it time to get up yet?"

"Yep," Emberpaw purred, satisfied with his fur. "Our mentors will be here any moment now."

"Great StarClan!" Frostpaw exclaimed, jumping to her paws. She turned to her brothers and started shaking them awake, tail twitching anxiously. "Birchpaw, Jaypaw, you lazy furballs! It's time for training!"

Rising to her paws, Finchpaw dipped her head goodbye to the other apprentices and ducked out of the den. She too, like Midnightpaw and Mousepaw, wanted to grab a bit of food before the day's work. The golden brown tabby she-cat crossed the clearly quickly and picked out a small gray mouse, carrying it over to where Midnightpaw and Mousepaw ate.

She had barely finished her meal when Ashbreeze approached, blue eyes gleaming.

"Good morning!" her mentor greeted cheerfully. "Ready for border patrol?"

Finchpaw straightened and nodded dutifully. "Yep! What borders are we going to?"

"ShadowClan and the lake border, I believe. Birdflight's sending out a second patrol later to cover WindClan and the wilderness border," Ashbreeze answered. The dark speckled pale gray tabby she-cat led Finchpaw to the camp entrance, where a small patrol consisting of Fawnleap, Oakpoppy, and Ravencloud waited for them.

When they approached, Oakpoppy dipped his head and took his place at the head of the patrol, leading them out of camp and into the forest.

Leaf-bare was approaching steadily as leaf-fall died away, and the mornings had become darker and darker as the coldest season of the year approached. Today, the encroaching shadows seemed substantially worse then the days before, and Finchpaw shivered somewhat nervously. This would be her first leaf-bare, having been born in very early green-leaf, and the apprentice wasn't really sure what to expect.

Ravencloud's fur bristled suddenly as they neared the ShadowClan border, and Oakpoppy turned back from the front to look at her curiously. "What is-"

Realization dawned on his face, and his own fur fluffed up considerably.

Finchpaw took a taste of the air, and as Ashbreeze growled and sank her claws into the ground, the apprentice finally understood the sudden hostility of the patrol. The reek of ShadowClan smothered the air, and fresh paw prints dotted a soft patch of earth. "Intruders!" the apprentice exclaimed, tail lashing.

"And by the sound of it, they're still here, too," Ashbreeze added, pricking her ears.

Echoing her mentor, the golden brown tabby apprentice could hear the faint sound of careless chatter, the voices not being any she recognized from her Clan.

Oakpoppy hissed. "Fox-hearts! We'll track them down and confront them assuming it isn't too many cats. But if it does come to battle, assuming we're outnumbered, I want Finchpaw to find us some reinforcements. The beginning of leafbare is _not_ the time to fight an unfair battle and get ourselves seriously injured!"

Finchpaw nodded, feeling somewhat grim but excited at the same time.

"Okay," she said. "Should I, like, get reinforcements from camp if I have to or are there any nearby patrols?"

"Good thinking," Oakpoppy praised her, and thought for a moment. "Go straight to camp, but if you smell a patrol nearby find them instead and bring them back, if the scent isn't too stale."

The brown-and-white tom turned and began to forge cautiously ahead, cutting a quiet but sneaky path through the undergrowth. Ravencloud followed close behind, and Ashbreeze waited a moment before padding after the other warrior. Finchpaw went last, staying close to her mentor's tail and ready to fetch help at any moment.

"Trespassers!" Oakpoppy's angry yowl rang out, as he suddenly darted out of the shadows and took place before the patrol.

It wasn't too big a group, only six cats, but it was still more than the ThunderClan patrol. Ravencloud jumped out after him, standing behind the enemy patrol, and Ashbreeze and Finchpaw took up places on the sides so they were encircled. Finchpaw felt a flash of surprise as she recognized the dark gray tabby tom standing indignantly beside his supposed mentor was Toadpaw.

"What are you doing here?" Finchpaw nearly gasped the words out loud, but managed to hold them in.

The dark gray tabby tom glared at her. "It isn't the Gathering anymore," he told her. "We're enemies right now and you'd do good to realize that I'm not afraid to fight you."

Finchpaw noted that he kept his voice quiet and low, so that the now-arguing warriors couldn't hear their brief exchange. She felt her claws slide out slightly and the golden brown tabby she-cat focused her gaze on the five ShadowClan warriors who stood, bristling, with their own claws unsheathed. The leader of the patrol, a gray tom with black streaks in his pelt, was snarling at Oakpoppy.

"Well you're one to talk," the gray tom growled, flicking one ear. "If case you stale minded ThunderClan cats haven't realized, this territory is ShadowcClan's now.."

"Liars and thieves," Ashbreeze answered, her blue eyes fixed on a dark brown she-cat with white paws, who held a sparrow in her jaws. Which wasn't from the ShadowClan side of the border, Finchpaw was guessing.

The she-cat shot a smirk at her gray furred Clanmate. "Looks like she's a little confused, Strikeclaw."

Strikeclaw nodded. "I know... ThunderClan cats are just big mouse-hearts, though, don't worry. They'll understand soon enough what's happened."

Oakpoppy's pelt bristled. "In case you haven't realized, the only mouse-hearts here are you. I don't know where ShadowClan cats get such weird ideas, but I guess stupidity runs in the Clan."

The ShadowClan patrol growled, and Strikeclaw glanced at his warriors. "I think you'll want to get off _ShadowClan_ territory, before we have to force you. In case you haven't realized yet, we easily outnumber you."

"You brought more cats because you were afraid we'd easily drive you off?" Ravencloud mewed dryly, with veiled anger. "Wow. Such a clever trick. I'm afraid that won't work on ThunderClan, even though the skinny rabbit chasers of WindClan might fall for it. _Might_."

Finchpaw tensed, preparing to run for help. Ashbreeze caught her apprentice's gaze, and gave her a meaningful glance. _This is it._

"ShadowClan, attack!" Strikepelt yowled.

Turning, Finchpaw pelted into the trees, her mouth open to catch all the scents that came flying at her. She searched for a patrol, and was relieved to scent Sparrowheart and Mousepaw. They had crossed this path not too long ago, and even though it wasn't a full out patrol, but it tipped the scales so that ThunderClan had more cats. She veered off to followed the trail and accidently tumbled right into Mousepaw.

"Mouse-brain, what do you think you're doing?" Mousepaw exclaimed, having been knocked to the ground. "You just scared away my vole?"

"Sorry," Finchpaw apologized.

Sparrowheart stepped out of the bushes. "Finchpaw, what's the matter? I thought Ashbreeze took you on the dawn patrol?"

 _Right, the patrol!_ Finchpaw met the senior warrior's gaze evenly, though her tail twitched wildly. "ShadowClan was invading. They reset the border in our territory and now they're fighting. Oakpoppy sent me to find reinforcements. We were outnumbered by one, but with you guys we'll not only outnumber _them_ but be back in time so that they couldn't have lost the fight without us."

"Right," Sparrowheart nodded, tensing. "Lead the way, Finchpaw."

She hared back along her path, rocketing head-first into the fight skidding to a halt. Sarrowheart and Mousepaw instantly surveyed the battle before leaping to help the warriors who were fighting multiple cats. To Finchpaw's dismay, however, the ShadowClan patrol had also gathered some reinforcements. They must have realized why she had left so quickly.

The other Clan was fighting with about nine warriors, from what Finchpaw could see. ThunderClan only had eleven, but surely they'd be alright?

Shaking her head, Finchpaw narrowed her eyes and focused on the fight.

 _There!_

Two warriors were doubling on Ashbreeze. The apprentice darted over and hopped neatly onto the back of the first one, the dark brown she-cat from earlier who had been holding the stolen fresh-kill. She sank the claws of her forepaws in and started raking the cat's back with her hind claws, while Ashbreeze nodded to her and tackled the other warrior.

Letting out a shriek of surprise, the dark brown she-cat flopped to the ground and rolled over, crushing Finchpaw beneath her.

The apprentice struggled for breath, gathering her haunches beneath her before forcing the ShadowClan she-cat off. But it took a lot of effort, and left her breathless for a moment. Claws sank into her pelt and began to pin her, and Finchpaw's mind raced as she tried to remember the moves Ashbreeze had taught her.

 _Oh, right!_ Finchpaw noticed an easy route from her jaws to the enemy warrior's forepaw, and she sank her teeth into the snowy white paw.

Tearing her paw away, the ShadowClan she-cat accidently gave Finchpaw the opening she needed to wiggle free and get to her feet. They circled each other for a moment, before the she-cat's eyes lit up.

"So, ThunderClan apprentice, what's your name?"

Confused, Finchpaw nearly faltered in her steps but managed not to, her eyes trained on the other cat's gleaming ones. "What's _your_ name?"

A flash of amusement crossed the ShadowClan cat's features. "Cocky, huh? You remind me of my last apprentice. If I tell you my name, will you tell me yours? It's more fun to know who you're fighting, after all. Once you've won you can tell all your Clanmates about the cats you defeated."

"Okay... Why not?" Finchpaw narrowed her eyes, lowering herself to the ground slightly. She was starting to think that she knew the enemy she-cat's strategy, and the golden brown tabby apprentice hoped to conquer it with her own moves. After all, if she managed to distract the other warrior like Finchpaw believed the ShadowClan cat was trying to do to her, then she'd have the perfect opportunity! She just had to wait...

"Wonderful!" The dark brown she-cat purred. "I'm Ivyheart, then. And you are, little apprentice?"

Taking a gulp of air, she answered with her name. "Finchpaw."

Ivyheart shot her a curious look. "Hmm, it suits you better then my name does, so far," she mewed lightly.

At Finchpaw's confused expression, Ivyheart's friendly look vanished and she leapt for her, swiping at Finchpaw's face. The apprentice narrowly ducked the blows and managed to score her claws down Ivyheart's flank before darting back out of range.

Then, pulling her own plan into action, Finchpaw fixed her gaze on a tree branch behind Ivyheart's head. She widened her eyes, hoping that Ivyheart would notice her 'distraction.' "Oh no," she whispered.

"What is it, measly apprentice?" Ivyheart asked, hesitating.

"It's WindClan," she gasped, forcing her eyes to round even further. Finchpaw made her expression turn into one of terror. "And... and _badgers_!"

Convinced by Finchpaw's wild look, Ivyheart looked over her shoulder.

"Hey! There's nothing th-"

Finchpaw leapt onto Ivyheart's shoulders and fastened her teeth on the dark brown ear of the she-cat. She scored her claws down the forelegs of her opponent, but this time keeping in mind the ShadowClan cat's countermove of rolling over.

When Ivyheart tried to flip onto her back, Finchpaw jumped straight up so that she landed on Ivyheart's chest and continued to claw at the she-cat. It might not have ben the most graceful or beautiful move, but it worked, and it was mainly all that Finchpaw cared about. But as Ivyheart knocked her off the fight continued and her adrenaline wore off, Finchpaw started to feel the sting of her scratches and bruises.

"ShadowClan, retreat," Strikeclaw's yowl rang out.

To Finchpaw's relief, Ivyheart sprang off her and joined her Clanmates in a huddle. The warrior short a glare at Finchpaw, muttering something under her breath. Whoever was standing next to her heard and asked Ivyheart a question it seemed. Ivyheart growled and clawed the ground, leaving scars in the dirt. Then the ShadowClan patrol disappeared, Strikeclaw yowling over his shoulder that he'd be back to show ThunderClan exactly where the border really lied.

Finchpaw flopped on the ground, her mind trying to reprocess all the information she had received in the battle. Ivyheart had been a good warrior, but how had Finchpaw held her off? Sure, at some points, Ashbreeze had leapt in and pulled Ivyehart off of her, but Finchpaw hadn't exactly been _defeated_ , though neither had Ivyheart.

But Ivyheart did seem fairly young, despite her sly tongue and sharp words.

Shaking her head, Finchpaw shrugged inwardly and was surprised when Asbreeze pawed her shoulder. "Finchpaw? Finchpaw, are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Finchpaw answered quickly.

The golden brown tabby apprentice got on to her feet, wincing as she touched one foreleg to the ground. Had she sprained it? Finchpaw was surprised at all the wounds and stings she hadn't realized earlier that she now noticed with the fight over.

Fawnleap was licking a scratch on her flank and Oakpoppy talked with Sparrowheart, a few fresh nicks seeable in the ears of both warriors. Mousepaw paced through the middle of the scene, tail twitching as he waited for the patrol to head back to camp. But before anything could happen, a fresh patrol of ThunderClan warriors pounded into the clearing, headed by Birdflight.

"What happened here?" Birdflight exclaimed, before tasting the air. "ShadowClan..."

"They tried to move the border over here," Ashbreeze explained, turning to face the ThunderClan deputy. "We fought them off, but it was a narrow victory."

Owlclaw, Nightflower, Spottedstorm, Maplestorm, and Frostpaw poured into the clearing. Finchpaw noticed the young apprentice's eyes widen considerably as she took in the scene, startled and possibly even a little horrified by the sight of the big fight. This would have been the first battle scene Frostpaw would have witnessed, and she was still pretty young, Finchpaw realized.

Owlclaw bounded over to Finchpaw, and her father licked her forehead gently, his eyes worried. "Finchpaw? Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, just a little scratched up," Finchpaw told him, though she knew her father had noticed she was favoring one foreleg.

"Are you sure?" he frowned. The brown tabby slipped onto the side of Finchpaw's injured foreleg, telling Finchpaw she could lean against him if she needed to.

The golden brown tabby apprentice insisted to her father that it was nothing, but Owlclaw kept one eye on her as they grouped up with the rest of the cats at the side of the clearing just in time to hear what Birdflight was saying.

"My patrol will remark the border and make sure the ShadowClan cats have left," the deputy decided. "Maplestorm, Frostpaw, you two can collect the prey the patrol caught and it back to camp."

Maplestorm nodded. "Right."

The warrior lead her apprentice out of the clearing, and Finchpaw glanced at Oakpoppy. When were they going to go back to camp?

"Birdflight, is it okay if I take my patrol back to camp?" Oakpoppy asked, as if he had read Finchpaw's mind.

"Of course. Make sure all you check in with Cloverbreeze and Snowpaw," Birdflight told them. The deputy nodded to the injured cats before leading her patrol towards the real border.

Reluctantly, Owlclaw peeled away from his daughter and joined Birdflight, to Finchpaw's relief.

She padded beside her mentor as their patrol began their procession back to camp. Fawnleap and Ashbreeze were locked deep into conversation, and so were Sparrowheart, Ravencloud, and Oakpoppy, so Finchpaw eventually caught up to Mousepaw.

"So, uh, hi," Finchpaw mewed awkwardly. "Sorry about running into you earlier."

"Hey, it's fine," Mousepaw purred, flashing her a grin. "I mean, you guys needed some more cats."

She shuffled her paws. "Well, I probably should have kept on going and found a patrol instead, though," Finchpaw admitted. "Especially since they got reinforcements too. I really didn't help too much."

"Come on," Mousepaw groaned light-heartedly. "What do you think would have happened if a patrol of five cats had taken on a patrol of ten cats?"

 _Ten? My guess was close._

"Fight?" Finchpaw suggested. "If I got a patrol, it would have been an even fight, though."

Mousepaw shook his head. "Nah, I'm sure ShadowClan would have found another one of their own patrols to join them. They aren't so stupid as to lose the advantage of numbers if it's an easy route to get more cats on their side."

The group neared camp and Finchpaw dropped back from Mousepaw so they could fit through the thorn barrier.

As the wounded patrol padded into camp, yowls of surprise rang out and cats crowded around them, asking questions. Hazelstar bounded lightly down from where she had been sitting on the highledge, weaving through the cats so she could survey the warriors.

Hazelstar glanced over her shoulder. "Does any cat know where Cloverbreeze and Icepaw are?"

"I think they went out to look for herbs," Cindershade called. "Do you want me to find them?"

Nodding, the ThunderClan leader turned back to the group as Cindershade slipped out of camp. "What happened?" she asked seriously.

"ShadowClan tried to move the border. We ended up in a fight for territory," Oakpoppy explained.

Hazelstar's eyes narrowed, concerned. "And? Who won the territory?"

"We did," Oakpoppy answered. "Finchpaw found Sparrowheart and Mousepaw, and they came to our aid as reinforcements." He nodded towards the mentor and apprentice.

"Who led the attack then? Was it Flintstar or Scorchfrost? Do you think ShadowClan will try again to claim some of our land?" Hazelstar pressed.

Oakpoppy shook his head. "No, it was actually Strikeclaw at the head of the attack. Flintstar and Scorchfrost were nowhere to be seen. But Strikeclaw said they'd be back when they retreated, so I think Flintstar it definitely the one behind the attack. No warrior with any brains would go behind their leader's back twice! Well, no warrior would go behind their leader's back in the first place, but they are ShadowClan, so you never know."

Cindershade, Cloverbreeze, and Icepaw bounded into camp. The medicine cats joined the group in the middle of the clearing and started nosing the warriors, checking their wounds as they figured out who to address first.

"Why are you favoring that paw?" Cloverbreeze asked Finchpaw as she sniffed the apprentice's scratches.

Finchpaw shrugged. "It just hurts, I don't know why. You're the medicine cat, you tell me!"

Giving an exasperated sigh, Cloverbreeze looked over the next cat before heading to her den. "I'm grabbing the herbs we'll need, Icepaw. Take a look at Finchpaw's leg, will you?" she told her apprentice as she passed him.

The white tom padded over to Icepaw, whiskers twitching. "What did you do to yourself?" he grinned, sniffing her foreleg.

Finchpaw was aware that Icepaw seemed to be strangely used to and, well, _familiar_ with her compared to most of the other cats. _I guess it's because I was the one who found him, but still... It's weird._

"I don't know," she snapped, feeling a little tense.

"I'm guessing it hurts when you put your weight on it?" the white tom suggested.

The golden brown tabby apprentice nodded. "Yeah..."

Icepaw twitched one ear. "Does it feel kind of wobbly and unstable when you stand on it or does it feel normal, except just with some pain?"

"Uh... Just kind of weird... Maybe, like, light? I really notice it compared to everything else. It kind of tingles," Finchpaw tried to describe the feeling to him, but knew she wasn't doing a very good job.

"I think you just twisted it, or possibly lightly sprained it," Icepaw guessed.

Finchpaw flicked her tail. "You're the medicine cat, don't you know which one? Even _I_ was able to guess it was probably sprained or something like that, and there's no way I'll ever be a medicine cat!"

"Hey, I was gone for a long time," Icepaw warned. "I'm a little rusty compared to what I should be. And I'm still a medicine cat apprentice, even then!"

Finchpaw groaned. "But you still know what you're doing. At least, you _knew_ , O mighty medicine cat _apprentice_."

Icepaw was silent for a few moments before he let his tail rest on Finchpaw's shoulder. "Look, Finchpaw," he mewed quietly. "I'm not trying to kill you, I just want to be your friend, okay? I know you freed me from the tunnels and you'll always have my debt, but it doesn't mean I'm going to let you bite my tail off. You understand?"

"Uh..." she stared at him, surprised. "Yeah?"

"Good," the white tom mewed briskly. "Then let me look at the rest of your scratches, and then I'll get you something for your leg."

Finchpaw managed a small purr. "Okay, O mighty medicine cat."

" _Apprentice._ "

"Forgive me, O mighty medicine cat furball."

* * *

 **Anddddd there's Chapter 10. Hopefully, that's a wrap.**

 **Anyways, please leave a review, follow, or favorite. Thanks so much for reading!**

 **~ Qashi**

 **and**

 **\- Tsuara**


End file.
